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Human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent within the decade. This would avert nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045, helping to limit global temperature rise to 1.5˚C and putting the planet on track to achieve the Paris Agreement targets.
Methane Basics. Methane (CH 4) is a powerful greenhouse gas, and is the second-largest contributor to climate warming after carbon dioxide (CO 2). A molecule of methane traps more heat than a molecule of CO 2, but methane has a relatively short lifespan of 7 to 12 years in the atmosphere, while CO 2 can persist for hundreds of years or more.
Under the Global Methane Pledge, coauthored by the United States and the European Union in 2021, 125 countries have now agreed to help reduce aggregate global methane emissions by nearly a third from 2020 levels by 2030.
Methane has important implications for climate change, particularly in the near term. Two key characteristics determine the impact of different greenhouse gases on the climate: the length of time they remain in the atmosphere and their ability to absorb energy. Methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime than CO 2 (around 12 years compared ...
Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution, and rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are key to limit near-term warming and improve air quality.
During the first 20 years after release, methane heats the atmosphere nearly 90 times faster than carbon dioxide, making it a key target for limiting global warming in the near term. Learn more. The data that support the findings of this study are freely available from the Global Carbon Project.
Regardless of the conversion factor, methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, and rapid and sustained cuts in emissions from the energy sector are imperative to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. Methane also affects air quality because it can lead to ground level (tropospheric) ozone, a dangerous pollutant.