Guterres urges action to halve food waste and curb methane emissions

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged governments and businesses to cut food waste, curb methane emissions and move beyond voluntary pledges, warning that waste is worsening pollution and climate change.

Speaking at a leaders’ round table in Antalya, Türkiye, on Wednesday, Guterres called for global food waste to be halved by 2030. He also asked the UN Environment Programme to develop a global near-zero methane standard for oil and gas, based on measurement, reporting and verification.

Guterres said food loss and waste generates 8 to 10 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, while waste and wastewater account for around a fifth of human-made methane emissions. He said methane is responsible for nearly a third of global warming today.

The secretary-general also cited an estimate that 167 billion cubic metres of gas were flared in 2025, saying this represented about $54 billion in wasted gas. He said around 30 per cent of fossil-fuel methane emissions could be cut at no net cost.

Guterres said the UN Environment Programme’s Methane Alert and Response System had issued more than 5,000 alerts since 2023, but barely one in eight had received a response. He called on governments to enforce rules and create incentives to reduce methane, and urged fossil-fuel producers to end routine flaring and venting and repair leaks.

He also pressed for action on food and other waste, including ending open dumping and burning, capturing methane from landfills and wastewater, and providing cities with finance for waste collection and composting. Guterres pointed to Japan’s reduction in food waste by more than half and to organic waste projects in Durban, Dhaka and Kampala that turn it into compost, fertiliser and animal feed.