Methane and Climate Change

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1.  Methane (CH4), the primary component of natural gas, is responsible for more than 25 per cent of the warming we are experiencing today. (IPCC)

2. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, with a Global Warming Potential more than 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2) during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.

3. Methane is responsible for around half of the growth in tropospheric ozone formation, a dangerous air pollutant. (UNEP)

4. The European Union, the United States and Partners have launched the Global Methane Pledge to champion methane mitigation in the short-term. Over 100 countries representing 70% of the global economy have now joined the Pledge and committed to reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030.

5. Agriculture is the predominant source of methane emission.  Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for roughly 32 per cent of human-caused methane emissions. Paddy rice cultivation – in which flooded fields prevent oxygen from penetrating the soil, creating ideal conditions for methane-emitting bacteria.

6. Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.

7. When it comes to staple crops like paddy rice, experts recommend alternate wetting and drying approaches that could halve emissions. Rather than allowing the continuous flooding of fields, paddies could be irrigated and drained two to three times throughout the growing season, limiting methane production without impacting yield. That process would also require one-third less water, making it more economical.

8. Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. This means that even if emissions were immediately and dramatically reduced it would not have an effect on the climate until later in the century. But it takes only about a decade for methane to break down. So, reducing methane emissions now would have an impact in the near term and is critical for helping keep the world on a path to 1.5°C.

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/methane-emissions-are-driving-climate-change-heres-how-reduce-them

https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/energy/facts-about-methane

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-secretive-methane-leaks-are-driving-climate-change

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/global-assessment-urgent-steps-must-be-taken-reduce-methane

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/speech/methane-action-tackling-warming-planet

https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/energy/what-we-do/imeo

2022 Nord Stream gas leaks:

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Satellites_detect_methane_plume_in_Nord_Stream_leak

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nord-stream-rupture-may-mark-biggest-single-methane-release-ever-recorded-un-2022-09-30/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/29/nord-stream-gas-leak-methane-russia/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/28/nord-stream-methane-gas-leaks-may-be-biggest-ever-with-warning-large-climate-risk

https://www.forbes.com/sites/priyashukla/2022/10/03/nord-stream-pipeline-leak-potentially-causes-largest-methane-release-in-recorded-history/

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