Russia does not yet deem it advisable to join global methane initiative - Reshetnikov

MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax) - The Global Methane Initiative (GMI) raises many questions, including from a methodological point of view, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said during an interview with Interfax.

"None of the countries has assessed the contribution of this initiative [methane agreement] to a specific reduction in CO2 emissions. There are many questions about the methodology, about ensuring such a commitment. What exactly and how will it be taken into account? So far, the initiative looks like just one of the elements of someone's the public agenda," Reshetnikov said when answering about the likelihood of Russia participating in a global agreement to reduce methane emissions.

"The main source of methane emissions is agriculture. The Western world is a leader in terms of breeding and genetics. Through this initiative, Western countries are trying either to sell some technologies, or consolidate their leadership. However, this is not an element of the climate agenda," Reshetnikov said.

"We will not join any initiative that is not beneficial to our economy and the residents of our country," Reshetnikov emphasized.

As reported, the global methane commitment initiative aims to reduce anthropogenic methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.