Overhaul needed for methane measurements

Abstract

Sources and amounts of emissions of methane—an extremely potent greenhouse gas—from human activities are clouded in uncertainty, says a report by a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine expert panel. These uncertainties have challenged efforts to reduce emissions and curb the impact of climate change, notes the report. Consequently, the committee recommends that the U.S. develop a new, comprehensive system to measure human-made methane emissions. Such a system could serve as an international model, says James W. C. White, committee chair and University of Colorado, Boulder, geology professor. Methane contributes but 9% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide accounts for most of the rest. However, methane has 86 times the global warming potential of CO2 in the first 20 years after it is emitted. Recently, scientists used spectroscopic observations of atmospheric methane to show directly that methane’s warming effect on Earth’s climate has been increasing since 2007 (Nat.