The UN puts methane in the focus of climate change: “It is imperative to reduce its emissions”

United Nations launches an observatory to control methane emissions, a gas much more harmful than CO 2 in the short term | “It is responsible for 25% of global warming,” says the UN

Carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) is the main greenhouse gas caused by human action and is on all lists as the great ally of global warming and climate change. But at the Climate Summit in Glasgow, COP26, the United Nations also wants to focus on methane (CH4).

So much so that this Sunday the creation of an International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) was announced, which will help monitor the levels of this gas in the atmosphere, a gas that is 80 times more harmful than CO ₂ although it has a much shorter life. “Methane contributes at least 25% of current global warming,” says the United Nations Environment Program, on which the IMEO will depend directly. “It is imperative to reduce their emissions.”

The launch of this new observatory comes after the European Union and the United States signed a global commitment to reduce methane emissions by 30% before 2030, a plan to which more than 60 countries have already joined. It is the first time that governments have committed to achieving concrete goals in relation to methane.

The importance of decarbonization

In its first report, the methane observatory highlights that the need to reduce carbon emissions does not imply, much less, that decarbonization is left aside. “Mitigation of methane emissions is not a substitute for decarbonising the energy sector. It does not reduce the urgency of the transition away from fossil fuels“indicates the observatory.

“Reducing methane emissions is critical and urgent, but to limit warming to 1.5°C we must also reduce fossil fuel production and fossil carbon emissions,” insists Oil Change International campaign manager David Tong. “There is no room to keep expanding oil, gas and coal if we want to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (as signed in the Paris Agreements). We also need a controlled decline in oil and gas production.”

The fossil fuel sector is where there is the greatest potential to reverse the current situation. “Reductions in methane emissions from fossil fuel production, transportation, and distribution can be implemented quickly, and addressing the challenge involves a limited number of companies,” the report continues. The observatory will initially focus on fossil fuels, but will later expand to other major emitting sectors such as agriculture and waste.

It is striking that this first observatory did not give more importance to agriculture and livestock. And more so taking into account the report of the United Nations Environment Program of May 2021, which highlights that the sector that emits the most methane is livestock.

“Livestock emissions from manure and enteric fermentation account for about 32% and rice farming 8% of emissions,” says the UN. The fossil fuel sector accounts for 23%, while coal mining 12%. For its part, the waste sector, landfills and wastewater account for 20% of total emissions.

80 times more polluting than CO ₂

Methane is a gas that is generated naturally by the decomposition of organic matter. Fossil fuels, agriculture and livestock are the sectors that emit the largest amount of this gas into the atmosphere. And it is about 80 times more polluting than CO ₂ .

However, its life is much shorter than that of carbon dioxide. Methane usually remains in the atmosphere between ten and twelve years, while CO ₂ can be up to 120 years.

“Methane is responsible for almost 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times, and emissions are increasing in a way not seen since records began in 1980,” says the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson. .

Source: The Independent