Let’s Talk about Methane

Simultaneously one of the biggest threats and the lowest hanging fruit for Climate Action.

Photo by Shayan Ghiasvand on Unsplash

I’ll start off by painting a picture of methane’s impact in the atmosphere. Later on in the article we’ll talk about what methane is and where it comes from, so follow along with me.

Here are the jaw dropping statistics:

• Methane packs 80 times the warming punch of CO₂ within the first 20 years of entering the atmosphere.
• Over a 100 year period, methane still has more warming potential than CO₂ at roughly 29.88 times its strength.

But here’s the interesting part:

• Methane vanishes from the atmosphere in just 10 to 12 years, while CO₂ basically sticks around forever.

That is where the hidden opportunities lie. This essentially means that any significant methane mitigation strategies put in place now, will begin showing warming reduction within this decade and the next. This is incredibly rare in climate action and is an opportunity we must seize.

What is Methane? Where does it Come from?

Methane is a highly potent Short Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP for short), which is simply a substance that contributes to global warming and climate change but has a short lifespan in the atmosphere.

Depending on where you live, key sources of Methane in the atmosphere vary, but in general it is highly attributed to the following sectors of the economy:

1. Agriculture, Especially Livestock and Rice cultivation.
2. Waste Management — poor management of organic waste leads to the generation of methane gas. Landfills and waste water facilities are big culprits.
3. Energy, Oil and Gas Sector.

What Are We doing to Reduce the impact of Methane?

A lot is happening in these sectors to reduce methane emissions across the sectors —

Agriculture & Livestock

Agriculture accounts for a significant portion of human-caused methane emissions, primarily from animal digestion and manure.

• Feed Additives: Incorporation of feed additives, fats, and oils into livestock diets to naturally suppress methane-producing bacteria in the rumen.
• Manure Management: Capturing gas from animal waste by covering storage lagoons or utilizing biogas digesters to harness methane for clean fuel and organic fertilizer.
• Better Rice Cultivation: Adjusting irrigation practices (such as alternate wetting and drying of paddies) and application of specific fertilizers to prevent the decomposition of crop residues that release methane.

Waste & Landfills

Organic waste decomposing in landfills is a massive source of methane.

• Composting and Recycling: Diverting food scraps and yard waste away from landfills to lower overall volume and repurpose the waste into nutrient-rich compost.
• Landfill Gas Capture: Installation of gas recovery systems that extract methane emitted from older, existing landfills to be converted into usable electricity.

Fossil Fuel & Energy Operations

The energy sector is one of the largest drivers of man-made methane emissions.

• Leak Detection and Repair: Use specialized technologies to regularly scan for pipeline leaks and tighten or replace faulty valves.
• Avoidance of Venting and Flaring: Instead of intentionally releasing methane gas into the atmosphere (venting) or burning it off (flaring), the gas is captured and redirected for productive energy use.

What is your role?

The biggest role you can play is educating yourself on Methane and Methane mitigation, this will give you the necessary toolkit to raise awareness on the issue and help move the needle on methane management globally.

Further Reading

• *Angera Declaration for Methane Action*
• *Cost benefit analysis of methane management technologies*