Climate talks often revolve around reducing the most dangerous greenhouse gas CO2. But other powerful heat-trapping emissions — of methane — are also likely to be in the crosshairs of negotiators at the crucial COP28 meeting in Dubai next week.
Methane — which is potent but relatively short-lived — is a key target for countries wanting to slash emissions quickly and slow climate change.
That is particularly because large amounts of methane are simply leaking into the atmosphere from fossil fuel infrastructure.
Atmospheric methane (CH4) occurs abundantly in nature as the primary component of natural gas.
It is the second largest contributor to climate change, accounting for around 16 percent of the warming effect.
Methane remains in the atmosphere for only about 10 years, but has a much more powerful warming impact than CO2.
Its warming effect is 28 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year timescale (and 80 times over 20 years).
Exactly how much methane is released in the atmosphere remains subject to “significant uncertainty”, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), despite progress in the monitoring of emissions through the use of satellites.
And scientists are puzzling over a steady increase of methane in the atmosphere, with concentrations currently over two-and-a-half times greater than pre-industrial levels.
The majority of methane emissions — around 60 percent — are linked to human activity, the IEA says, while some 40 percent is from natural sources, mainly wetlands.
