The methane challenge: Marfrig breaks ground with targets and strategy

Announcement from Brazilian beef giant comes amid broader lack of progress on methane, as ISSB plans to make it more prominent in standards.

Few bets would have been on a Brazilian meat company to lead the charge on methane reductions.

But that is exactly what happened at COP30 this month, when Marfrig pledged to cut its absolute methane emissions by 33% by 2035. 

The world’s second largest beef producer also published a five-page plan to meet the new target, and promised to publish an annual inventory of methane emission volumes from 2026. 

Slow progress

The announcement came on the back of research by think-tank Planet Tracker, which found that just seven of the 52 large meat, dairy and rice companies it assessed even disclosed their methane emissions.  

France’s Danone was the only one with a reduction target. 

In the Oil & Gas industry, where the approach to methane is more mature, the number of firms with implementation strategies is still less than 20%. 

That’s according to a report published this week by the UN, in partnership with the International Energy Agency and US non-profit EDF. 

They assessed the 2024 reports of 116 major oil and gas companies and found that, while two-thirds had solid targets, just a fifth did well on transparency or implementation.  

The slow process is despite a warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that a tonne of methane is up to 30 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a 100-year timeframe. 

Four years ago, some 150 governments signed the Global Methane Pledge, which commits to reducing emissions by 30% by the end of the decade. 

According to a status report published by the UN this month, water regulations and slower growth in natural gas markets have resulted in lower methane levels than forecasted, but hitting the 2030 goal will still involve the “full implementation of maximum technically feasible reductions globally”. 

ISSB proposals 

But could methane disclosures be about to get a shot in the arm?  

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will close a consultation this week, in which it proposes giving methane its own category. 

The plans are part of a review of sector-based SASB standards, which currently bundle methane in with other greenhouse gases.   

EDF has described the proposal as a “meaningful correction” that provides “clearer definitions, more specific metrics and stronger expectations on measurement accuracy”. 

If successful, it would mean fossil fuel companies would be required to report their Scope 1 methane emissions separately, providing more visibility on contributions and progress.  

ISSB is also considering a requirement for oil and gas companies to disclose whether they are part of the UN’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership – a voluntary agreement to measure, manage and report methane emissions in a standardised way.