Although methane is more short-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane is 80 times more powerful at trapping heat over a 20-year period and is responsible for about one third of global warming.
Recent years have seen some progress in reducing the amount of gas going into the atmosphere, but the world needs to accelerate these efforts, according to a new United Nations report.
Progress on methane in recent years
This report takes stock of how much progress the world has made since the launch of the Global Methane Pledge at the 2021 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Since then, about 160 countries have agreed to cut methane by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. This target is in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).
Dan Jorgensen, the EU commissioner for energy and housing, said the past five years “have seen unparalleled global attention and action on methane.”
He said this includes a growing number of countries developing action plans to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas, as well as a growing commitment from industry. Companies from 90 countries have signed up to the UN’s Methane Reporting and Measurement Programme.
Nevertheless, methane emissions are still increasing and under current legislation, the report suggests, will increase by 5% by 2030 and 21% by 2050 compared to 2020 levels. But if there had been no global pledge, they would have increased even more.
The report attributes the decline in emissions trajectory to both a slowdown in gas market growth and new regulation – including some rules introduced by the EU last year forcing fossil fuel companies to better monitor and report their methane emissions.
Nearly 65% of countries that submitted their new climate action plans to the UN by June this year included measures targeting methane – an increase of nearly 40% compared to 2020. According to the analysis, if fully implemented, these schemes could help reduce emission levels by up to 8%.
Although the report said this would lead to “historic progress” on methane reductions, it still falls well short of the 30% pledged in 2021.
“We need more ambitious action than plans. This is a good start, but we need more,” said Lena Höglund-Isaksson, senior researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
Where does methane come from and how can emissions be cut?
While methane is also released from natural sources such as wetlands, human activities generate about 60%.
About 42% of this comes from agriculture, mainly from animal digestion and manure management, and 20% from waste rotting in landfills.
The rest is produced by the energy sector, primarily oil and gas industries, either accidentally through leakage into damaged infrastructure or through deliberate venting and flaring. The latter two release methane into the atmosphere during oil and gas extraction.
Many countries have improved the reduction of methane from agriculture and waste, for example, by equipping landfills with gas recovery systems. But much more can be done in the energy sector, Hoglund-Isaakson said.
This is where there are “really big” opportunities to reduce emissions by 2030, he said.
The report estimates that 72% of the mitigation potential is in the region, much of which can be achieved at low cost. This includes measures such as initiating leak detection and repair programs, reducing emissions from underground and surface coal mines, and ensuring proper sealing techniques during mine and well closures.
Despite the affordability of the technological solutions – and the ability to capture and sell gas that might otherwise leak – Hoglund-Isaksson said many in the industry won’t take action unless regulations mean it. “It is much more profitable to invest money in more production.”
More regulation, investment and monitoring needed
Luke Powell, senior policy officer for air quality and agriculture at the European Environment Bureau, a network of climate NGOs, says there is a need to go beyond the voluntary nature of the 2021 global pledge to achieve the required methane reductions. “What we need is a mandatory requirement.”
Although satellite monitoring of methane has improved in recent years, according to the United Nations, about 90% of emissions detected still go unnoticed by governments and companies.
Powell says the information available is not always used at the plant level to understand weak points of infrastructure, which impacts not only the climate, but also their own profitability. “They’re not looking at how much money they can save by reducing those leaks.”
Speaking at the launch of the UN report, Otto said that greater public and private investment in methane mitigation is also needed, and stressed that the benefits far outweigh the costs.
According to the report, meeting the global methane pledge would help avoid an estimated 0.2 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2050.
Powell said, with scientists now saying it is inevitable that the world will exceed 1.5C of global warming, methane reduction is more important than ever. “To say it’s critical seems like an understatement,” he said.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker
<a href