Methane Mitigation 101
What is Methane?
Methane, identified by its chemical formula CH4, stands as a primary component of natural gas and ranks as the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide CO2. With a lifetime of approximately a decade and a Global Warming Potential roughly 80 times greater than that of CO2 within 20 years of its release into the atmosphere, methane contributes to a third of the global warming we are experiencing today.
Though methane exists in the atmosphere in lower volumes compared to CO2, its heightened warming potential magnifies its importance in the change equation.
The Main Sources of Methane
The genesis of methane encompasses a myriad of human and natural activities. The majority of human-driven methane emissions originates from three major sources: 40% from agriculture, 35% from fossil fuels, and another 20% from solid waste and wastewater.
As a growing global climate priority, global methane emissions must be reduced by 30-60% below 2020 levels by 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C this century. Decarbonizing economies and transitioning to lower emissions must come with targeted methane abatement across entire value chains.
What is Methane Mitigation?
Methane mitigation refers to the collective efforts of countries, emitters and associations aimed at reducing, controlling, or eliminating the release of methane gas into the atmosphere. Even small reductions in methane emissions can have a substantial impact on mitigating global warming.
In the realm of energy, methane is released during the extraction, production, and transportation of fossil fuels like natural gas and oil, alongside leaks from pipelines and infrastructure. Critical advancements in technology that capture emissions during extraction, reduce pipeline leaks, and detect emissions prior to release are pivotal measures the industry needs to embrace in mitigation efforts.
Currently, the fossil fuel sector has the greatest share of ready-to-implement technical opportunities that can effectively help reduce methane emissions in this decade. For the oil and gas sector, the total spending needed to deploy methane mitigation strategies is less than 2% of the net income earned by the industry in 2022.
Serving as both an economic and environmental win-win, achieving methane reduction at the speed necessary to meet the Paris Agreement goals will require targeted and ambitious actions from both governments and countries. While reduction in oil and gas demand will lead to reduction, it will still not reduce methane fast enough to limit warming without additional actions.
Effective technology, appropriate regulatory framework and credible data, all backed by a dramatic injection of investment must go hand-in-hand if the world wants to achieve robust and targeted methane abatement.
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