Methane emissions

Global methane emissions are major part of global greenhouse gas emissions. Methane in the atmosphere has an estimated 100-year global warming potential of 34, meaning that a ton of methane emitted into the atmosphere creates approximately 34 times the atmospheric warming as a ton of carbon dioxide over a period of 100 years.[1] Atmospheric methane concentrations have reached almost two-and-a-half times pre-industrial levels or 3.2 billion tons. Though methane traps far more heat than the same mass of carbon dioxide, it remains in the atmosphere only about a decade, while carbon dioxide potentially warms for a much longer time period assuming no change in rates of carbon sequestration.[2] On a 20-year timescale, a mass of methane is about 85 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth, but on a 100-year timescale, it is projected to be only about 28-34 times more powerful, on the assumption the carbon dioxide will not be sequestered and will continue to warm the earth for decades after the methane is gone.[1]

60 percent of methane emissions are caused by humans and livestock animals, while natural sources such as wetlands cause about 40 percent of methane emissions.[3][4] Human sources include agriculture, especially animal agriculture and rice production, waste, and fugitive emissions from industry including the energy sector. Grazing animals such as cattle and sheep along with other livestock animals cause at least 30 percent of unnatural methane emissions.[3][5] Fugitive emissions from oil, natural gas and coal contributes about 25 to 34 percent of unnatural methane emissions.[3][5] Human waste including landfill and wastewater cause about 18 percent of unnatural methane emissions. Rice production causes about 7 to 20 percent of unnatural emissions.[5] Wetlands make up about 30 percent while natural sources other than wetlands account for about 10 percent.[3] This includes emissions near oil and gas deposits unrelated to human activity, volcanic activity, and emissions by termites.[3]

Sources of atmospheric methane
Diagram showing the main sources of methane (produced for the first global report on global methane emissions)

Abiogenic (a) methane is stored in rocks and soil stems from the geologic processes that convert ancient biomass into fossil fuels.

Biogenic (b) methane is actively produced by microorganisms in a process called methanogenesis.

Anthropogenic

Anthropogenic sources:[6][7][8]

Natural sources

Natural sources that have always been a part of the methane cycle include:[11]

With the ongoing draining for agricultural and building areas, wetlands and the associated methane production are on the decline.

National reduction policies

China implemented regulations requiring coal plants to either capture methane emissions or convert methane into CO2 in 2010. According to a Nature Communications paper published in January 2019, methane emissions instead increased 50 percent between 2000 and 2015.[12][13]

In March 2020, Exxon called for tighter methane regulations, which would include detection and repair of leaks, minimization of venting and releases of unburned methane, and reporting requirements for companies.[14]

By country
Methane emissions (kt of CO2 equivalent)[15]
Country 1970 2012
 Afghanistan10,20213,763
 Albania1,7642,644
 Algeria12,85748,527
 American Samoa713
 Andorran.a.n.a.
 Angola23,37718,974
 Antigua and Barbuda2443
 Argentina84,91888,476
 Armenia1,3183,426
 Aruba1023
 Australia94,291125,588
 Austria9,0228,007
 Azerbaijan6,39819,955
 Bahamas94227
 Bahrain7913,379
 Bangladesh91,305105,142
 Barbados100109
 Belarus12,12516,620
 Belgium14,1239,243
 Belize96228
 Benin3,4616,983
 Bermuda2031
 Bhutan6981,770
 Bolivia16,50923,231
 Bosnia and Herzegovina3,1743,140
 Botswana5,2324,448
 Brazil207,737477,077
 British Virgin Islands1319
 Brunei Darussalam1,6154,539
 Bulgaria9,94011,794
 Burkina Faso4,61314,957
 Burundi1,4692,719
 Cabo Verde46151
 Cambodia20,08735,915
 Cameroon8,28618,516
 Canada67,296106,847
 Cayman Islands1229
 Central African Republic28,89085,677
 Chad8,04318,364
Channel Islandsn.a.n.a.
 Chile10,91318,381
 China781,0881,752,290
 Colombia36,92167,979
 Comoros142284
 Congo, Dem. Rep.119,58375,336
 Congo, Rep.6,6777,156
 Costa Rica2,5992,315
 Cote d'Ivoire7,80316,266
 Croatia2,9864,708
 Cuba13,6008,560
 Curacaon.a.n.a.
 Cyprus341642
 Czech Republic17,96311,902
 Denmark7,6927,603
 Djibouti149634
 Dominica1641
 Dominican Republic3,7876,861
 Ecuador6,62115,786
 Egypt20,77851,977
 El Salvador2,2393,032
 Equatorial Guinea762,959
 Eritrea1,7972,894
 Estonia2,2082,235
 Ethiopia32,68764,481
 Faroe Islands3039
 Fiji416715
 Finland9,9728,552
 France82,88281,179
 French Polynesia4199
 Gabon8763,894
 Gambia, The4951,039
 Georgia3,4935,019
 Germany126,69255,721
 Ghana5,23021,078
 Gibraltar37
 Greece5,8728,255
 Greenland1829
 Grenada2537
 Guam3071
 Guatemala3,2176,877
 Guinea7,14828,654
 Guinea-Bissau5421,421
 Guyana2,0662,124
 Haiti2,9564,587
 Honduras2,5525,844
 Hong Kong SAR7043,147
 Hungary10,3957,135
 Iceland308359
 India398,212636,396
 Indonesia126,665223,316
 Iran, Islamic Rep.52,013121,298
 Iraq19,68224,351
 Ireland10,17014,330
 Isle of Mann.a.n.a.
 Israel1,3013,416
 Italy40,48835,238
 Jamaica8211,316
 Japan101,80438,957
 Jordan3622,115
 Kazakhstan68,23871,350
 Kenya12,00928,027
 Kiribati516
 North Korea15,00718,983
 Korea, Rep.25,94932,625
 Kosovon.a.n.a.
 Kuwait21,91012,691
 Kyrgyz Republic4,5614,291
 Laos6,97615,011
 Latvia3,3233,181
 Lebanon5451,150
 Lesotho1,1301,287
 Liberia4931,586
 Libya29,69518,495
 Liechtensteinn.a.n.a.
 Lithuania4,5844,806
 Luxembourg7141,169
 Macau49151
 Macedonia2,0331,396
 Madagascar15,19420,070
 Malawi3,1894,629
 Malaysia14,31734,271
 Maldives1352
 Mali8,28118,042
 Malta98141
 Marshall Islands28
 Mauritania3,1576,082
 Mauritius169311
 Mexico60,999116,705
 Micronesia, Fed. Sts.1730
 Moldova2,0683,456
 Monacon.a.n.a.
 Mongolia6,7356,257
 Montenegron.a.n.a.
 Morocco8,48612,012
 Mozambique12,7939,968
 Myanmar75,25480,637
 Namibia4,0045,097
 Nauru13
   Nepal17,36423,982
 Netherlands20,20419,026
 New Caledonia180215
 New Zealand25,05428,658
 Nicaragua4,0076,492
 Niger5,1856,858
 Nigeria35,19689,782
 Northern Mariana Islands212
 Norway6,86616,409
 Oman4,57116,858
 Pakistan56,503158,337
 Palau11
 Panama2,3243,378
 Papua New Guinea9482,143
 Paraguay10,14516,246
 Peru13,70419,321
 Philippines43,21157,170
 Poland97,17465,071
 Portugal6,73112,976
 Puerto Rico1,2772,406
 Qatar4,77641,124
 Romania32,42525,708
 Russian Federation338,496545,819
 Rwanda1,3022,942
 Samoa63133
 San Marinon.a.n.a.
 Sao Tome and Principe1746
 Saudi Arabia31,74062,903
 Senegal4,6059,928
 Serbian.a.n.a.
 Seychelles924
 Sierra Leone2,5543,352
 Singapore6582,386
 Sint Maarten (Dutch part)n.a.n.a.
 Slovak Republic4,5744,075
 Slovenia2,0992,822
 Solomon Islands1,6311,449
 Somalia9,54216,206
 South Africa32,27063,156
 South Sudann.a.n.a.
 Spain26,50937,208
 Sri Lanka11,33811,864
 St. Kitts and Nevis2630
 St. Lucia2844
 Saint Martin (French part)n.a.n.a.
 St. Vincent and the Grenadines2340
 Sudan31,75296,531
 Suriname941709
 Swaziland9211,377
 Sweden10,08210,304
  Switzerland4,8784,900
 Syrian Arab Republic2,42512,783
 Tajikistan2,8145,408
 Tanzania25,21827,994
 Thailand71,444106,499
 Timor-Leste412732
 Togo2,0565,343
 Tonga3261
 Trinidad and Tobago1,59614,789
 Tunisia2,5317,647
 Turkey32,78978,853
 Turkmenistan10,82122,009
 Turks and Caicos Islands16
 Tuvalu23
 Uganda8,56521,161
 Ukraine74,35268,061
 United Arab Emirates12,87326,120
 United Kingdom120,05458,980
 United States594,255499,809
 Uruguay14,52419,549
 Uzbekistan16,83147,333
 Vanuatu128254
 Venezuela35,15158,199
 Vietnam54,145113,564
Virgin Islands (U.S.)1647
 West Bank and Gazan.a.n.a.
 Yemen2,2058,940
 Zambia33,8816,551
 Zimbabwe8,4978,589
World5,305,8208,014,067

Removal technology

In 2019, researchers proposed a technique for removing methane from the atmosphere using zeolite. Each molecule of methane would be converted into CO
2, which has a far smaller impact on climate (99% less). Replacing all atmospheric methane with CO
2 would reduce total greenhouse gas warming by approximately one-sixth.[16]

Zeolite is a crystalline material with a porous molecular structure.[16] Powerful fans could push air through reactors of zeolite and catalysts to absorb the methane. The reactor could then be heated to form and release CO
2. At a carbon price of $500/ton, removing one ton of methane would earn $12,000.[16]

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See also

References
  1. Myhre, G., D. Shindell, F.-M. Bréon, W. Collins, J. Fuglestvedt, J. Huang, D. Koch, J.-F. Lamarque, D. Lee, B. Mendoza, T. Nakajima, A. Robock, G. Stephens, T. Takemura and H. Zhang (2013) "Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing". Table 8.7 on page 714. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing
  2. "Understanding Global Warming Potentials". Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  3. "Methane, explained". National Geographic. nationalgeographic.com. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  4. "Global Carbon Project (GCP)". www.globalcarbonproject.org. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  5. https://www.globalmethane.org/documents/gmi-mitigation-factsheet.pdf
  6. "Frequently Asked Questions". Global Methane Initiative. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  7. US EPA, OA (23 December 2015). "Overview of Greenhouse Gases". US EPA.
  8. Global Methane Emissions and Mitigation Initiatives, Global Methane Initiative
  9. "Agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions on the rise". FAO. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  10. "Fossil fuel industry's methane emissions far higher than thought". The Guardian. 2016. Emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas from coal, oil and gas are up to 60% greater than previously estimated, meaning current climate prediction models should be revised, research shows
  11. Harvey Augenbraun, Elaine Matthews, and David Sarma. "EDUCATION: GLOBAL METHANE INVENTORY - The Global Methane Cycle". National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Institute for Space Studies.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. Brooks Hays (29 January 2019). "Regulations haven't slowed China's growing methane emissions". UPI. Retrieved 31 January 2019. China's methane emissions increased 50 percent between 2000 and 2015
  13. Miller, Scot M.; Michalak, Anna M.; Detmers, Robert G.; Hasekamp, Otto P.; Bruhwiler, Lori M. P.; Schwietzke, Stefan (January 29, 2019). "China's coal mine methane regulations have not curbed growing emissions". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 303. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-07891-7. PMC 6351523. PMID 30696820.
  14. Guzman, Joseph (2020-03-03). "Exxon calls for tighter regulations of methane". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  15. Methane emissions (kt of CO2 equivalent), The World Bank, 2018
  16. Alexandru Micu (2019-05-21). "One research team proposes swapping atmospheric methane for CO2, and it might be a good idea". ZME Science. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
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