India’s Punjab joins coalition to slash methane emissions

India’s Punjab joins coalition to slash methane emissions

• At the Climate Group Asia Action Summit 2026, Punjab has signed up to the Subnational Methane Action Coalition.
• Punjab is one of India's largest and most agriculturally significant states.
• The coalition now has 33 members; state and regional governments cutting methane emissions, the fastest way to slow global warming.
• Methane is responsible for a third of the rise in global temperatures since industrial levels.

Singapore, 27 May: The Indian state of Punjab has joined the fight against methane emissions, by joining the Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC). The coalition is formed of states and [AS1] provinces cutting methane gasses, which is the fastest way to slow global warming.

Punjab officially signed up to SMAC at the coalition’s first ever in-person convening in Asia, during the Climate Group Asia Action Summit in Singapore.

One of India's most populous states and a major centre of agricultural production, including rice cultivation, a significant source of methane, Punjab's membership marks a strategic step in expanding the coalition's reach across Asia.

The state is the 33rd member of this critical coalition, which is coordinated by non-profit Climate Group and was originally founded by the Government of California in 2023 at COP28.

Climate Group’s Head of Global Implementation, Jebi Rahman said:

"Punjab joining Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC) is a significant moment for subnational climate leadership in Asia and sends an important signal about where methane action needs to happen next: in major agricultural economies balancing food production, energy security and economic growth alongside climate goals.”

“As one of India’s leading agricultural states, Punjab has enormous potential to drive methane reductions at scale while helping shape practical solutions for other regions facing similar challenges.”

Reena Gupta, Chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, said: “"Punjab has a proud agricultural heritage, and a responsibility to protect the health of the people who depend on it. Punjab is working on reducing its methane emission levels. The Subnational Methane Action Coalition gives us the tools and the network to do that well."

Free to join, SMAC empowers its members to share best practices and put together action plans. Members can access technical and policy support from experts at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, at the University of California, Berkeley and their networks.

Ends

For more press information, please contact Tom Nice at Climate Group on Tnice@climategroup.org

Note to editors

Founded in 2023 by the California State Government at the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, the Subnational Methane Action Coalition is a group of states, regions and provinces leading on tackling methane emissions. The fastest way to curb rising global temperatures in the short-term, the reduction of this potent greenhouse gas falls largely to state and provincial governments, as they often serve as the primary regulators of its three main sources: agriculture, energy and waste. Free to join, the coalition enables its members around the world to share technical data, policy resources and best practices. It also pairs them with technical and policy experts at the University of California, Berkeley and their networks.