As we are attempting to recover from one of the setbacks of Nature, we know that the clock is ticking and the Nature tries to absorb all the Green House Gas emissions, whether it can or not.
One may believe that Climate change is a distant reality, one may think otherwise and claim it to be the biggest Emergency of whole time gobbling up the Earth. Well, that does not matter anymore because we are not at position to negotiate with Nature, put anything further at risk.
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) along with Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) recently undertook The Global Methane Assessment that talks of another evil to clean air, that has long been neglected.
It pioneers to integrate the climate and air pollution costs-benefits from mitigating Methane emissions.
State-of-the-art composition, climate models and policy analyses were used to draw the benefits and cost analysis of Methane mitigation options.
According to Exec-Director of UNEP: “Cutting methane is the strongest lever we have to slow climate change over the next 25 years and complements necessary efforts to reduce carbon dioxide.
The benefits to society, economies, and the environment are numerous and far outweigh the cost. We need international cooperation to urgently reduce methane emissions as much as possible this decade”.
The dire need to curb Methane emissions:
Other gases under action: Methane constitutes nearly one-fifth of the total global greenhouse gas emissions. All the other emissions are being cut-down under several protocols like aerosols under Montreal Protocol.
Therefore, Methane seems to be the odd priority at the moment in order to achieve the target of 1.5 degree C rise under Paris Climate Agreement.
Continued Emissions: Human-caused methane emissions have been incessantly increasing, that too at a rate faster than any time known.
Even the pandemic-induced economic slowdown that worked its charm for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, could not reduce Methane emissions, according to data recently released by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Powerful GHG: Methane has greater potential to cause warming, nearly responsible for 30 per cent of warming since pre-industrial times.
Here Methane can be less devastating in the fact that it stays for lesser time in Atmosphere than Carbon.
Sources of Methane emissions:
Methane gets produced when living things decompose and is also found in natural gas.
Most anthropogenic Methane emissions come from three sectors:
Fossil-fuels:
Oil and gas extraction, processing, and distribution account for 23 per cent, and coal mining accounts for 12 per cent of emissions.
Waste sector:
Landfills and wastewater account for about 20 per cent of emissions.
Agricultural sector:
Livestock emissions from manure and fermentation represent roughly 32 per cent, with paddy cultivation holding up 8 per cent of these emissions.
Findings of the study:
Methane in abundance, forms the ground-level ozone (smog), a dangerous air pollutant and driver of Climate Change.
The new report says measures available now could reduce emissions from human activities by as much as 180 million tonnes a year by 2030 – 45% of the total per year.
This reduction can prevent 260 000 premature deaths, 775 000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat, and 25 million tonnes of annual crop losses.
Any such move can possibly avoid a 0.3°C of global temperatures by 2045, necessary to be in tandem with the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal.
What can be done around it?
Methane coming in from the fossil fuel sector can be curbed as it is relatively easy to locate, fix methane leaks and reduce venting of the same into Atmosphere. Targeted measures (60% of these are low-cost) to limit emissions from waste and agriculture sector are required.
Authorities around the World are looking to limit Methane more. European Union Methane Strategy drawn by EU has been out to plan.
Joe Biden collaborated a Leaders Summit on Climate in April that encouraged the leaders to call for reductions in methane.
John Kerry (Special envoy on CC) explained: “The United States is committed to driving down methane emissions both at home and globally—through measures like research and development, standards to control fossil and landfill methane, and incentives to address agricultural methane”.
Russia, Argentina, Vietnam and France independently have raised their voices for Methane limitation.
Net Zero Producers Forum frames pragmatic net-zero strategies, including methane abatement for oil and gas production. This is led by U.S., Canada, Norway, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (40% of biggest Producers).
A gradual transition to renewable energy, residential and commercial energy efficiency, reduction in food loss and waste, can reduce methane emissions by a further 15 per cent till 2030.
With increasing emissions, we need to up the ante. Europe has the greatest potential to curb methane coming from agricultural sources. Mitigation lies differently across different regions.
India has the greatest potential to reduce methane emissions in the waste sector. China’s mitigation potential is found best in coal production and livestock, while Africa’s potential lies in livestock, followed by oil and gas.
Satellite Technology can help map the incoming methane emissions. E.g. Canadian GHGSat has the highest-resolution for detecting CH4 down to about 25m.
Even the landfill areas can be monitored and tracked. As they can be tracked, they can be curbed efficiently.
There are always options and alternatives available lest we are able enough to part ways from our ever-increasing necessities.