Methane science has also set the stage for methane to assume a newly prominent role at COP26 in Glasgow, where a growing number of countries are signing up to pledge a 30% cut in their collective methane emissions by 2030. In December, the European Commission will release new policies requiring companies to measure, report and verify methane emissions; improve efforts to find and fix methane leaks; and end routine venting and flaring — the industry’s embarrassingly wasteful habit of simply setting fire to extra methane.