NAIROBI, Kenya – A new study has highlighted the urgent need to address the rapid rise of methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas that has been accelerating at an alarming rate.
The study, authored by an international team of scientists and published in Frontiers in Science, calls for immediate action to prevent a dangerous escalation in the climate crisis.
Methane, which accounts for half of the global warming experienced so far, has seen its emissions increase dramatically since 2006.
This trend is expected to continue throughout the 2020s unless significant measures are taken to curb this pollution.
The study’s lead author, Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at Duke University, emphasized the gravity of the situation.
“The growth rate of methane is accelerating, which is worrisome,” he stated. “In the last few years, we’ve had this huge surge in methane emissions, complicating the fight against climate change.”
The primary sources of methane emissions include the extraction and processing of fossil fuels, livestock farming, and, to a lesser extent, rice cultivation.
Additionally, rising global temperatures are causing organic matter in wetlands to decompose more rapidly, releasing even more methane into the atmosphere.
In response to this crisis, the US and the European Union launched the Global Methane Pledge in 2021, aiming for a collective 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030.
Although 155 countries have joined the pledge, only 13% of emissions are currently addressed by existing policies, and a mere 2% of global climate finance is allocated to methane reduction efforts.
“I don’t think that target is necessarily out of reach yet, but we have to redouble our efforts,” Shindell stated.
He pointed out that while carbon dioxide (CO2) can persist in the atmosphere for centuries, methane is a shorter-lived threat.
Cutting methane emissions could provide a faster route to reducing global heating, as 90% of accumulated methane would dissipate within 30 years if emissions were halted immediately.
The new study recommends integrating methane reduction with CO2 mitigation strategies and identifying the most effective projects for cutting methane emissions under various conditions.
Recent efforts by the White House to tackle “super-pollutants” like methane have included enhanced monitoring, such as installing methane sensors on commercial aircraft, and a mix of philanthropic and regulatory initiatives aimed at reducing emissions.
“If we want to limit near-term temperature rises, we need to get methane under control. It’s been somewhat ignored until now, but methane is truly at the forefront of climate protection,” Paul Bledsoe, former climate adviser to President Bill Clinton, noted.
