DEEPTI’S RESEARCH DISPATCH
Managing Methane Can Buy Us Time
To make much-needed cuts to our carbon dioxide emissions. Research Tidbit #7
As a part of my sustainability reading project, I’m reading the UN 2021 Emissions Gap Report. Previously, I read the introductory chapters and decided to read the remaining chapters out of order.
I started with the Methane chapter because it looked the most interesting from a solutions perspective. And not just to me, by the way.
Reduction of methane emissions from the fossil fuel, waste and agriculture sectors can contribute significantly to closing the emissions gap and reduce warming in the short term. […]. Strong abatement potential exists at net-negative and low costs […]. [Emphasis mine.]
I think that’s what excited UN authors sound like.
What I knew going in
I hadn’t paid much attention to methane (CH4).
I knew it was a greenhouse gas, but carbon dioxide (CO2) gets most of the attention, which makes sense since it is the biggest contributor to global warming.
I didn’t have any attention to spare for two greenhouse gases (GHG); I was already obsessing over the first one.
