THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT OF MODERATING METHANE EMISSIONS
Why the UN has heat-trapping methane in its new climate targets.
As more countries walk away from their commitments to burn less fossil fuels, enduring champions of climate action have focused on a faster fix for greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists and politicians now believe the most effective way to slow the pace of human-made climate change could be to reduce the amount of methane released into the planet’s atmosphere.
They claim cutting methane could stave off the worst short-term consequences of climate breakdown while nations re-evaluate their new positions on fossil fuel use.
Belief in its immediate benefits for air quality, food security, and public health was so strong at COP30 that some delegates organised a micro-summit to fast-track policies and programs for cutting methane discharge.
Methane alone is thought to have driven at least a third of global warming in recent years. Once in the atmosphere, it is about 80 times more powerful in trapping heat than carbon dioxide.
But because it doesn’t last nearly as long, fast action to cut methane could have an enormous immediate effect on controlling warming.
Head of the UN’s Climate and Clean Air Commission Martina Otto previously described “reducing methane emissions this decade is our emergency brake in the climate emergency.”
A 40 percent cut in methane could pair back temperature rises by 0.3°C in the next decade, it has been proven.
So, if the world wants to mitigate the anticipated overrun of the 1.5°C threshold set out in the Paris Agreement, action on methane appears not just wise but imperative.
Without any action methane emissions are expected to rise 13 percent by 2030. With this in mind, Brazil’s environment and climate minister Marina Silva was joined by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition in Belém to launch a “Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator”.
The program intends to make immediate inroads into reducing methane across 30 developing countries by 2030 and will spend an initial $150m to do so – tackling natural and human-made processes including leaky oil and gas infrastructure, livestock and rotting organic material.
Rotting food in landfills alone causes about 20 percent of human-related methane emissions.
The UK backed the program by also announcing a plan to significantly reduce methane emissions as a new pillar of its climate ambition.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Cutting methane and other non-CO₂ greenhouse gases is one of the fastest and most effective ways to slow global warming and clean our air.
“The UK is leading the way through our Methane Action Plan which will drive real progress towards a safer, fairer, and cleaner future for our children and grandchildren.”
CoAlternative Energy operates a business model that incorporates its own approach to reducing methane emissions.
It uses only fire-damaged deadwood, diseased timber and forest floor debris to manufacture black biofuel pellets. All old-growth, healthy trees in Canada’s boreal forest are left standing.
And, among multiple reasons why it does this is so decomposition methane, which escapes from decaying woody materials, is prevented from entering our atmosphere and warming the planet.
Timber that is left to rot and decay in a forest environment releases methane persistently and consistently over years. Not just for the creation of wildfire fuel breaks is it better off removed.
CoAlternative Energy has 20-year renewable Crown forest rights to remove all dead and dying wood from five million hectares of forest, to make low-emission black biofuel pellets burned instead of coal in plant furnaces.
CEO David Peters said: “Methane entering our atmosphere, trapping in heat and exacerbating human-made global warming comes from many sources.
“By far the worst culprit of methane gas discharge is the fossil fuel industry which leaves coal mines and shale gas wells uncapped. Oil and gas platforms also leak methane while only sources that operators identify are vented and flared.
“But a significant source of methane released into the atmosphere also comes from rotting organic matter, some of which remains to decay in forest habitats over years.
“Hundreds of square kilometres of wildfire-damaged deadwood are capable of contributing enormous amounts of methane to our planet’s greenhouse gasses.
“Coalternative removes as much of that decaying matter as possible and uses it as raw material to make low-emission biofuel burned in place of coal at power stations.
“This elimination of decomposition methane is part of our company’s full-circle green thinking, which also incorporates forest side production facilities, carbon-neutral production processes and especially high bulk density offtakes.
“Our company’s contribution to addressing the causes of global warming is holistic and includes reducing methane gas emissions.
“This is why the company welcomes the UN’s vision and initiative in doing the same.”
