A new study has warned that global methane emissions are rising at the fastest pace in decades, threatening efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and the second-most gas driving climate change. Therefore, scientists have called for immediate action to prevent further exacerbation of the climate crisis.
Unrecognized Danger
According to the study, published Tuesday in Frontiers in Science journal, methane is responsible for half of global warming. Since 2006, methane emissions have rapidly increased, with 2021 and 2022 recording the highest emissions.
This potent greenhouse gas has negative implications on human health and agriculture, as it causes respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease leading to premature deaths in adults and children under 5 years old. It also harms many plants and reduces crop yields.
The lead author of the study and a climate scientist at Duke University, Drew Shindell, said: “The growth rate of methane is accelerating, which is worrisome. It was quite flat until around 20 years ago and just in the last few years we’ve had this huge dump of methane.”
He told the Guardian that this huge increase has made the task of addressing warming caused by humans more challenging.
Reasons Behind Methane Emissions
Previous studies determined three main sources for the rapid increase in methane emissions since 2006:
- Fossil fuels: from the drilling and processing of oil, natural gas and coal.
- Agriculture: from livestock and the expansion of rice production in places such as Africa.
- Natural wetlands: from the faster decomposition of organic matter in wetlands resulting from global warming, which releases more methane.
The recent study concludes that the main contributors to methane emissions’ surge in the period 2020-2023 are the fossil fuel sector and the new oil and gas projects, as well as the rising emissions from wetlands due to La Niña conditions.
Global Methane Pledge
The new study points to the Global Methane Pledge, an initiative led by the US and the EU in 2021 to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030. Although the initiative has expanded to 155 countries, current policies cover only 13% emissions and only 2% of global climate finance is dedicated to cutting methane emissions.
With regard to this, Shindell said: “I don’t think that target is necessarily out of reach yet but we have to redouble our efforts to get there. Countries are leading with oil and gas regulations, but it’s a challenge to get rules in place, and when it comes to livestock that’s just unpalatable to most governments, they just don’t want to touch it.”
Immediate Action
The study stresses the urgent need to reduce methane emissions. The authors highlight three actions in this regard. The first is to reverse the rise in methane emissions across the fossil fuel sector, agriculture and landfill.
The second action is to address the surge in methane and carbon dioxide emissions simultaneously, instead of the increased focus on carbon dioxide. Finally, the authors call for maximizing the use of technology and forging new policies for combating methane emissions at a global, national and sector level.
“Methane is the strongest lever we can quickly pull to reduce warming between now and 2050,” Shindell pointed out. “There’s just such a rapid response to cutting it. We’ve already seen the planet warm so much that if we are to avoid worse impacts we have to reduce methane. Reducing CO2 will protect our grandchildren – reducing methane will protect us now,” he said.
Cost-effective Solutions
The study notes that reducing methane emissions requires a blend that combines technological solutions and systemic changes to practices and behaviors. Although most of these are cost-effective, their adoption needs to be supported by strong policy measures, according to the authors.
Technological solutions include capturing methane and utilizing it in energy production; enhancing infrastructure to minimize fossil fuel leaks; improving gas flaring efficiency and eventually phasing it out; and harnessing vaccines and feed supplements to inhibit methane-producing microbes in livestock.
As for systemic changes, they include reducing livestock numbers through improving productivity and shifting towards plant-based diet; reducing methane emissions from livestock and agriculture; improving water and fertilizer management; and reducing organic waste from landfill through recycling and reducing food loss and waste.
