Silver Supply of the IPCC Report: We can now deal with methane

Monday The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released a major report on the state of the planet, a spoiler alertit doesn’t look great. The archive of the assessment is carbon dioxide, but it is also called CO₂a lesser-known brother: methane. Atmospheric concentrations of this greenhouse gas, 80 times stronger than CO₂, the report says they are now at least 800,000 years older than at any time. If humanity were to reduce methane emissions, this would cause a huge and rapid brake on climate change.

“Methane is the next decisive award for climate stabilization, fast,” said Rick Duke, CEO and White House contact Special Mandate for the Presidency on Climate Change, after the report was released at a press conference on Monday. “There is nothing that comes close to securing our short-term climate future, to buy the crucial time to decarbonize energy and develop advanced opportunities. negative emission technologies“.

“Yet the fastest and most effective way to slow down the warming rate is to cut down on methane emissions,” agreed Ilissa Ocko, chief climate scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Like carbon dioxide, methane contains carbon; its chemical formula is CH₄. It is a major component of natural gas and many ecosystems. Rotten vegetation produces methane; wetlands are particularly large emitters. When termites like cows and insects like ungulates digest food, they also make methane. (Above all guilt cows, not farra, those with gas.)

While CH₄ It is a completely natural component of the Earth’s atmosphere, the amount that has now been added to the sky is very natural. An important factor is livestock, which includes not only cows but also sheep and pigs – all of which manure provides more methane. In the US, this “enteric fermentation” is responsible for the excess a quarter of domestic methane emissions. Production and transport of natural gas, coal and oil account for another 30%, with landfills, which are ultimately full of decaying vegetation, accounting for 17 per cent.

When determining the strength of a greenhouse gas, there are two main considerations: the efficiency of the molecule in trapping heat and how long it can last in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as CO₂ and CH₄ both are very effective at holding heat; they are really what make the Earth invigorating, preventing heat from escaping into space. But methane is better at that. “You have a carbon bound to two oxygen atoms in a CO₂ molecule, but the attached carbon four hydrogen atoms in a methane molecule, “says NYU environmental scientist Matthew Hayek.” So there are more ways to vibrate when the atoms between these atoms receive or absorb infrared radiation and therefore re-emit infrared radiation. ”

“One kilogram of methane emitted can absorb 100 times more heat than CO₂ “It’s the first time it’s emitted,” agrees Tianyi Sun, a climate scientist at the Methane Environmental Protection Fund. can.

Before humans began to produce too much of each, when these gases occurred naturally, they floated into the atmosphere, absorbed radiation, and decomposed by oxidation over different periods of time. So. a volcano It can throw CO₂ atmospheric, and wetlands would be slow sew methane, but both would eventually disappear. The atmosphere was able to stay in balance, creating a kind of blanket that kept the planet warm but not too hot.