Methane CH4. Credit: Christinelmiller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Methane (CH4) is a potent but often overlooked contributor to climate change that needs mitigation.
A new study, “The Methane Imperative,” published in Frontiers in Science, shifts the spotlight from CO2 to methane (CH4), a potent but often overlooked contributor to climate change.
The Growing Threat of Methane
Methane emissions have been rising sharply, particularly since 2006, driven predominantly by activities in wetlands and the fossil fuel industry. The study emphasizes that methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as CO2, making its control crucial for limiting global temperature rises to 1.5°C or 2°C. If unchecked, rising methane levels threaten to undermine efforts to reach net-zero carbon targets, underscoring the urgency for immediate action.
Cost-effective Mitigation Strategies
The research highlights several methane mitigation strategies that are not only effective but also economically viable. By comparing the costs of these strategies with the financial damages caused by methane-related warming, the study makes a compelling case for robust, legally binding regulations to promote their adoption. These strategies include:
Implement Strong Regulations: Enforce legally binding measures to ensure that methane reduction targets are met.
Introduce Methane Pricing: Establish mechanisms that reflect the environmental cost of methane emissions, incentivizing reductions.
Expand Technological Solutions: Invest in advanced technologies to capture and convert methane, particularly in the oil, gas, and waste sectors.
Enhance Monitoring Systems: Use satellite and ground-based tools to track methane emissions accurately and identify major emission sources.
Promote Sector-Specific Policies: Develop policies tailored to the primary methane sources in each sector, ensuring efficient mitigation.
Encourage International Collaboration: Foster global partnerships to share technologies, best practices, and resources for methane mitigation.
Educate Stakeholders: Raise awareness among governments, businesses, and the public about methane’s role in climate change and the benefits of its reduction.
Methane and CO2 Reduction: An Interconnected Approach
One of the key insights from the study is the interconnectedness of methane and CO2 reduction efforts. Strategies that target methane emissions can significantly aid in achieving net-zero CO2 goals through mechanisms like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation. However, these strategies often require extensive land use, which could be optimized by reducing methane emissions from agricultural sources, particularly livestock.
Health and Economic Benefits of Methane Reduction
Reducing methane emissions not only helps mitigate global warming but also offers considerable health benefits. The study points out that lowering methane levels can significantly reduce surface ozone pollution, which affects respiratory health and crop yields. Furthermore, the economic benefits of addressing methane emissions include avoiding substantial costs associated with climate-related damages, enhancing the overall cost-effectiveness of methane reduction strategies.
Global and National Actions
“The Methane Imperative” calls for global cooperation and the implementation of national policies tailored to specific methane sources. These policies should be designed to leverage the unique economic and environmental contexts of each country, ensuring that methane reduction efforts are both effective and sustainable.
Summing Up
Methane may be less discussed than CO2, but its impact on global warming is substantial and undeniable. As the study suggests, targeted methane reduction is an essential component of the broader climate mitigation agenda. By adopting comprehensive strategies that address both CO2 and methane, the world can make significant strides towards the ambitious but crucial goal of limiting global warming.
Source: Shindell, D., Sadavarte, P., Aben, I., Bredariol, T. d. O., Dreyfus, G., Höglund-Isaksson, L., … & Maasakkers, J. D. (2024). The methane imperative. Frontiers in Science, 2, 1349770.
Borley wood – restoration This view shows a area from which planted exotic conifer species have just been removed to allow site native species to re-assert themselves (NVC W8 ash/maple woodland type), October 17, 2006.
A recent study “A Century of Reforestation Reduced Anthropogenic Warming in the Eastern United States” unveils a silver lining through the lens of historical reforestation efforts in the Eastern United States. Spanning over a century, these endeavors have contributed to the greening of landscapes and played a pivotal role in reducing anthropogenic warming across the region. This study revealed the significant impact of reforestation on local climate mitigation and underscores the potential of nature-based solutions in our fight against global warming.
The Cooling Effect of Reforestation
The research, conducted by a team of environmental scientists, reveals that reforestation in the Eastern U.S. has led to a noticeable cooling of both land surface and near-surface air temperatures. By analyzing ground and satellite-based observations, the study highlights a significant reduction in temperatures, with forests cooling the land surface by 1–2°C annually compared to adjacent grasslands and croplands. This cooling effect is most pronounced during the growing season’s midday, offering a natural buffer against the rising temperatures associated with climate change.
A Shift in Climate Trends
Interestingly, the study correlates the extensive reforestation efforts with the anomalous lack of warming in the Eastern U.S. throughout the 20th century. Unlike other North American regions that experienced substantial warming, the Eastern U.S. showed minor cooling trends, attributed to the biophysical impacts of reforestation. This phenomenon, often referred to as the “warming hole,” underscores the potential of strategic reforestation efforts in tempering regional climate trends.
Implications for Climate Adaptation
The findings of this study underscore reforestation’s dual benefits: sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and directly cooling the Earth’s surface. In the face of escalating climate change, reforestation emerges as a vital nature-based solution, offering a sustainable pathway for climate adaptation and mitigation. The study’s insights highlight the importance of preserving and expanding forested areas as a proactive measure against global warming.
Renewed Focus on Reforestation & Conservation
As we move forward, the study calls for a renewed focus on reforestation and forest conservation as key strategies in the global climate action agenda. By learning from the century-long reforestation efforts in the Eastern U.S., we can harness the power of nature to forge a cooler, more sustainable future for our planet.
The study provides compelling evidence of reforestation’s positive impact on climate. It serves as a call to action for policymakers, environmentalists, and communities worldwide to invest in reforestation as a practical and impactful climate solution.
The Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders shares an open letter for world leaders at COP27.
Alliance members know that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires significant collaboration and shared responsibility between the private and public sectors.
Knowing this, the CEOs are ready to work side by side with governments to accelerate the transition to net zero.
More than 100 CEOs of large multinational organizations, all members of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, have strong convictions that our ambitious climate targets can be realized only with the support of governments.
We recognize the positive progress to date. Emissions under current policies are projected to reach 58 GtCO2e in 2030, 2 GtCO2e lower than what it was in 2019, but still 25 GtCO2e higher than what is essential to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This gap is equivalent to the annual emissions of 5.4 billion cars. Unfortunately, assuming full implementation of unconditional NDCs still results in a 23 GtCO2e gap (2019 and 2022 UNEP Emissions Gap Report). Governments must raise their ambitions and enact policy changes to close this gap, otherwise we face a significant threat to the existence of human life and nature.
This letter outlines the actions we believe governments and businesses need to take to unlock the potential of the private sector and to move towards a path that limits global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
We’re in this together to solve the climate crisis
We, the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, are ready to work side-by-side with governments to deliver bold climate action. We encourage all business leaders to set science-based targets to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 at the latest.
The global impact on food and energy prices, notably due to the war in Ukraine, continues to hurt households, businesses and economies worldwide. The crisis is a stark reminder of the fragile nature of the current energy and food systems, which are still dominated by fossil fuels. Leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) have the chance to make this a historic turning point towards cleaner, more affordable and secure energy and food systems. We, therefore, welcome Egypt’s hosting of COP27 this year and Africa’s leadership on climate action, adaptation, resilience and a just transition.
Accelerating the transition to net zero requires significant collaboration and shared responsibility between the private and public sectors. We believe that business commitments to climate action backed by private sector actions and investments can reinforce the mandate for governments to raise their own ambitions and enable faster progress.Government targets, supporting policies and transition plans can provide clarity, predictability and the competitive landscape to encourage more businesses to take action and to make transition-aligned investments.
As members of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, we have committed to reducing emissions by more than 1 gigatons annually by 2030 and have, on average, reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions by 22% from 2019-2020 levels, outpacing major nations.*
We call on our peers in the private sector to join us in:
Setting science-based targets in line with the Paris Agreement, with a clear roadmap that takes sector-specific pathways into account.
Collaborating within and across sectors and value chains to drive transparency, advocacy and action in alliances and initiatives while working with major industry and trade associations to advance alignment with the Paris Agreement.
Contributing to the development of internationally harmonized reporting standards.
In this context and with leaders meeting at COP27 and the G20, we call on governments to:
Set bold ambitions and follow through on commitments
Deliver on the promise in the Glasgow Climate Pact and commit to ambitious and Paris Agreement-aligned nationally determined contributions and translate them into plans and policies that at least halve global carbon emissions by 2030 and contribute to global net zero by 2050.
Accelerate the transition
Drive down the green premium of low-carbon technologies for hard-to-abate sectors by unlocking blended finance (concessionary lending, guarantee mechanisms and others), scaling innovative sustainable finance mechanisms, integrating climate and sustainability criteria in public procurement and promoting the alignment of international standards for transformational technologies.
The focus is on action. Recognizing that many solutions already exist, there is an urgent need to:
Break down barriers by simplifying regulations, speeding up permitting processes and creating the enabling policy frameworks to accelerate scaling and deploying these solutions. Essential to progress is increased R&D expenditure and the inclusion of digital and physical infrastructure to ensure supply meets demand.
Provide incentives, including policies for emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies on both the supply and the demand side, while also supporting hard-to-abate sectors through additional funding for innovation and the scaling up of new solutions, including circularity, carbon removal and natural climate solutions.
Put a price on carbon and phase out fossil fuel subsidies in a way that is both just and results in their eventual elimination. Combined, this will improve the competitiveness of sustainable low-carbon technologies.
Invest in reskilling and upskilling of those in the workforce that are impacted by the transition and enable more people to participate in the green economy.
Invest in mitigation, adaptation, and a just transition
Ensure that developed countries meet and exceed their $100 billion commitment and that these funds go directly to supporting developing countries’ efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This is fundamental to establishing and maintaining confidence between countries to tackle the climate crisis together.
The impacts of climate change are already being felt, from more frequent heatwaves and wildfires to more severe tropical cyclones and floods. These changes disproportionately impact developing countries and threaten current and future economic development, human health and welfare. For new climate adaptation infrastructure projects, governments should strive for a conditionality of sustainability (e.g. building materials and techniques). Investing in water, healthy food systems and resilient supply chains while increasing local production in the Global South using regenerative agriculture and other sustainable farming and food production practices is integral to climate adaptation and resilience.
This must be done while protecting biodiversity and ecosystems and ensuring a fair and inclusive transition for all. This transition needs a radical rethinking of how we do business and a prolonged focus throughout the private and public sectors aligned with bold policy actions to decarbonize the economy.
Internationally harmonize reporting and disclosure standards
With the current divergence of standards underway, we call on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the European Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and all other regulating bodies to align their collective efforts to arrive at globally-aligned standards to accurately measure and compare progress against ambitious targets. The standards must be interoperable, decision-useful and implementable to ensure they create trust and lasting change. Finally, market-based instruments (including carbon markets, power purchase agreements, etc.) have an essential role to play in reducing carbon emissions globally but need greater alignment and clear standards and frameworks.
This is the decade of action, so we must work side-by-side with governments to scale up public-private efforts in the drive to net zero. Alliance members will be in Egypt during COP27 to discuss with world leaders, government officials and civil society representatives how, together, we can take positive action to tackle the climate crisis.
99. Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yara International ASA
100. Wolf-Henning Scheider, Chairman of the Board of Management and Chief Executive Officer, ZF Group
101. Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Group
*Such as Brazil (13% 2019-2020 reduction), USA (11% 2019-2020 reduction), Europe and India (both 8% 19-20 reduction), all taken from the Carbon Monitor Programme, Nature.com analysis.
Original source: World Economic Forum (Public License)
