Late Italian lawyer Manfredi Caltagirone leaves behind a growing observatory, expanding partnerships and conviction on the power of reducing methane emissions
On 7 March 2019, Manfredi Caltagirone sat down with two colleagues in the umbrage of a large tree at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) campus in Nairobi to talk about methane. Awareness and ambition to tackle the powerful greenhouse gas were heightening through efforts like the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition but something new was needed to jumpstart action.
The three shared their dream of doing something that would elevate the urgency of methane, and finding a theory of change that might plausibly deliver the required methane emissions reductions by 2030. They discussed what a more effective framework for the oil and gas industry might look like, how much money would be required (US$100 million), and that efforts needed a piloting institution responsible for driving change. Moving from the tree to the white board, the three sketched out the solution.
It didnt take long for key stakeholders from government, science and oil and gas to buy into the vision and help make it a reality one that is, remarkably almost identical to what was on the white board. The framework became the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, launched in 2020, to be managed by the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO), launched in 2021 as part of UNEP with backing from the European Commission and the Environmental Defense Fund. Most of the required finance to set up IMEO was successfully raised from governments and philanthropies.
In years since, further programmes have even been added under IMEO, such as the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), a suite of scientific studies to close knowledge gaps, and partnerships with new sectors beyond oil and gas. The man behind all of it was Manfredi.
Earlier this year, Caltagirone succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 46.
He left behind what diplomats and scientists call a remarkable legacy. The methane observatory (IMEO) has revolutionized how the world handles releases of a gas pivotal in the battle against climate change -- work that has seen Caltagirone posthumously named a UNEP Champion of the Earth, the UNs highest environmental honour.
What Manfredi was able to put together was probably the single fastest, most effective way to reduce [the global] temperature, said Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub and Chiles former environment minister. What he did has global impact and will continue far beyond his life.
Manfredi, a Rome native, joined UNEP in 2012 after a stint at Italys environment ministry. Early on, he recognized the fastest way to slow global warming and buy time for the transition to cleaner energy was to rein in methane emissions. The gas warms the planet 80 times faster than carbon dioxide but dissipates within about 10 years. As such, lowering methane emissions could quickly bring down skyrocketing global temperatures.
Caltagirone called methane one of the greatest climate opportunities, and this gave him a sense of urgency. Colleagues say his constant encouragement was, Push, push, push. He would often start the day by reminding co-workers how many months remained before 2030, the date by which the world needs to halve its greenhouse gas emissions to prevent runaway climate change.
He knew that as we are not moving on carbon dioxide reductions fast enough, we needed to grasp this methane story, and move it to the global frontlines, said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. It wasnt easy, but he did it, inside UNEP, creating the International Methane Emissions Observatory. That was a massive, massive step forward. We just jumped into it.
The launch of the UNEP methane observatory in 2021 marked a seminal moment. For the first time, an entity would be working hand in hand with oil and gas companies to measure how much methane they were releasing into the air. The critical factor was moving the industry from vaguely approximating their methane emissions through generic calculations, to actually measuring the emissions from each facility and project.
One of Manfredis primary objectives with this was to penetrate the layers of bureaucracy that allowed methane releases to fester for months and years at a time to directly involve the guy in the field who can tighten the screw. In other words, the goal was never measurement, but always mitigation.
This will dramatically increase transparency. Now we are sharing this data with those who can act to reduce emissions on the ground," Caltagirone said in 2023. That philosophy plays out in the UNEP-led Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, which provides a framework for firms to measure their emissions. More than 150 companies from small companies to state-owned enterprises that together produce 42 per cent of the worlds oil and gas had joined the partnership by 2025.
This is not an easy partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme and the oil and gas sector, said UNEPs Andersen. Imagine these two dance partners. But who could do it? Manfredi could.
In 2023, as the number of satellites capable of spotting methane from space multiplied, IMEO, in partnership with the U.S. State Department and the European Commission, launched the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) to help achieve methane emissions reduction targets by 2030. Even though the satellites were detecting only a fraction of total emissions, they were becoming a powerful awareness-raising tool, with media interest surging as IMEO began publishing leak data. This data is portrayed in an interactive map showed purple and orange plumes where methane is being released, and each observation is backed by a technical report shared with the relevant government and, where known, the operator. IMEOs scientists help interpret the data so that the leaks can be addressed.
Caltagirone was diplomatic when he had to be, colleagues say. But pretense didnt suit him. In interviews with the media, he was frank about the apathy he initially encountered from governments and companies, which habitually ignored the observatorys agenda. But his understated charisma won over crucial stakeholders, from government officials and donors to scientists and corporate executives. Today, the IMEO is even forging partnerships with steel and waste companies, and conducting studies in livestock and rice.
Despite the intensity of the work, Caltagirone was also known for keeping things light. His humour, colleagues say, made the impossible seem possible, and his sharp eye for identifying talented individuals saw this team grow from just a handful of experts at its launch to more than 85 this year.
Manfredi, these colleagues say, was involved in the observatorys work until the final days of his life. His, he said, was a cool job and he was driven by a desire to do everything he could about the looming climate crisis.
I have a lot of hope and confidence that we can fix this problem, he said. Our kids, our grandkids depend on it.
