The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) has being tasked to work with leading oil and gas companies to achieve substantial global methane and black carbon emission reductions.More than a dozen Ministers from countries around the world released a statement at the end of their meeting in Geneva, copied to the Ghana News Agency over the weekend.They called for an accelerated action to substantially reduce venting, leakage, and flaring of natural gas from oil and gas operations worldwide.The statement said “it is estimated that over 8 percent of total worldwide natural gas production is lost annually to venting, leakage and flaring.“In addition to U.S. $27 to $63 billion in energy and economic losses, these activities result in nearly two gigatons of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions per year, over 80 percent of which are methane emissions, making oil and gas operations the second-largest source of global anthropogenic methane emissions behind agriculture.”The statement said flaring releases substantial amounts of black carbon, which is particularly harmful to human health and areas like the Arctic.It said the CCAC aims to help companies accelerate and expand voluntary emission reductions where there are cost-effective opportunities to do so, and to showcase progress by companies that are already taking significant action.The statement said “this effort will build upon and scale-up the achievements of the Natural Gas STAR International Program, the Global Methane Initiative, and the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership.The Coalition will work with leading oil and gas companies to collaboratively design an initiative that will quickly and meaningfully achieve substantial climate, air quality, health, environmental, operational, and financial benefits.”The statement said initial CCAC engagement with interested oil and gas companies was commencing and would accelerate over the coming months, and Ministers from additional CCAC countries were also expected to join the effort.It said “the Coalition, which was launched by six countries and the UN Environment Programme in February 2012, now consists of 28 state partners and other key institutions like the World Bank, and is already acting on several fronts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and many hydroflourocarbons (HFCs).”The CCAC is a voluntary, collaborative global partnership uniting governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society to quickly reduce short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and many hydroflourocarbons (HFCs).The Coalition is focusing high-level attention to catalyze major reductions that can be undertaken now using existing technologies.