The Methane Crisis

 The IPCC says methane gas, produced by farming, shale gas and oil extraction, playing ever-greater role in over-heating planet. Methane is also produced by melting permafrost, and there have been indications that the Siberian heatwave could increase emissions of the gas. However, large-scale emissions from permafrost melting are thought to be still some way off, while emissions of methane from agriculture and industry can be tackled today. Levels of methane have risen sharply in recent years.

Cutting carbon dioxide is not enough to solve the climate crisis – the world must act swiftly on another powerful greenhouse gas, methane, to halt the rise in global temperatures, experts have warned.

Methane heats the world far more than carbon dioxide – it has a “warming potential” more than 80 times that of CO2 – but has a shorter life in the atmosphere, persisting for about a decade before it degrades into CO2.

Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and a lead reviewer for the IPCC, said methane reductions were probably the only way of staving off temperature rises of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, beyond which extreme weather will increase and “tipping points” could be reached. 

“Cutting methane is the biggest opportunity to slow warming between now and 2040,” he said. “We need to face this emergency. We need to see at Cop26 a recognition of this problem, that we need to do something on this.”

Satellite data shows that some of the key sources of methane are poorly managed Russian oil and gas wells.  Russia has made little effort to cut its emissions, has some of the leakiest infrastructure.  More than 40% of EU gas is methane heavy gas from Russia, which is worse than coal for the climate

Reduce methane or face climate catastrophe, scientists warn | Greenhouse gas emissions | The Guardian