Dear UN Ambassador,

Political leadership has a critical opportunity to secure our future, but time is running out.

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Despite the exponential growth of many climate solutions, decisive political action has lagged, slowing progress on emissions reduction. We are only just beginning to flatten the emissions curve when, in reality, we must halve emissions by 2030. This delay not only intensifies extreme weather events—storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires—but brings us dangerously close to tipping points that could trigger irreversible feedback loops, threatening human civilization as we know it.

To prevent a catastrophic future, we need to intensify our efforts to phase out fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition across all sectors in all countries. We also need to Buy More Time to stabilize global temperatures as close to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as possible.

Here’s the good news: We can do this 💪.

How? By rapidly cutting methane and other short-lived climate pollutants.

Methane is the biggest contributor to global warming among all short-lived climate pollutants. Over a 20-year period, it can warm the atmosphere more 80 times as much as the same amount of CO₂. However, while CO₂ persists in the atmosphere for 300–1,000 years, methane has a relatively short lifespan of 7–12 years.

This means that we don't need to remove existing methane from the atmosphere; if we simply stop emitting it, methane levels in the atmosphere will rapidly decrease. By eliminating emissions of methane and other short-lived climate pollutants, we could reduce global warming by up to 0.5°C. This would buy us crucial time while we continue to increase our efforts to green our energy systems, phase out fossil fuels, protect nature and biodiversity, and implement other systemic changes needed for a sustainable future.

So why might we succeed with methane when we’ve so far struggled to reduce carbon? Here are five key reasons:

1. Concentrated Sources. Methane emissions stem from three major sources: waste management, the fossil fuel industry, and agriculture. Effective, low-cost solutions already exist to significantly reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel exploration, production, and transportation; from livestock farming—particularly cattle–and from decomposing waste in landfills.
   
   
2. An Unwanted Byproduct. Methane isn’t essential to these industries; it’s an unwanted waste product. With proper handling, much of this methane can either be captured or converted into biogas
   
   
3. We Have the Data. Thanks to new technologies like MethaneSAT—a high-precision satellite launched into orbit earlier this year—methane leaks can be identified from space with unprecedented accuracy. The data is free, transparent, and available to everyone.
   
   
4. We have the will. 158 countries as well as the European Union and 140 companies have already pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, which shows that there is a sincere will to tackle this huge problem. But since methane emissions continue to rise, we need more than just pledges. We need a legally binding agreement to accelerate the initiatives and pledges that already exist.
   
   
5. Historical Success. We've done this before. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was adopted to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (such as freons) and other substances that were destroying the ozone layer. Supported by a special international fund and unprecedented public-private cooperation, the legally binding treaty has proven to be a massive success: 99% of ozone-depleting substances have been eliminated, and the ozone layer is now healing.

Notably, the original Montreal Protocol began with just 46 signatory nations, yet it set a global movement in motion. Today, almost every country worldwide is a party to the protocol, which has been repeatedly strengthened over time.

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‍We can replicate this success. We can create a Montreal Protocol for methane and other short-lived climate pollutants.

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Our Request to You, the UN Ambassador:

I, along with the undersigned from around the world, urgently appeal to you, as the UN Ambassador of my country,  to champion a new UN protocol for quickly reducing emissions of methane and other short-lived climate pollutants. Our country has a unique chance to lead this essential global effort. Imagine our nation becoming the host that helps save the world.
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Your leadership is crucial in mobilizing international cooperation to swiftly reduce methane emissions and secure a sustainable future for all.

Read more about this topic and the science behind it at wedonthavetime.org/buymoretime

I am looking forward to your reply to my letter.
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Sincerely,