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. 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. 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.
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. 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. Fugitive emissions from oil, natural gas and coal contributes about 25 to 34 percent of unnatural methane emissions. 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. Wetlands make up about 30 percent while natural sources other than wetlands account for about 10 percent. This includes emissions near oil and gas deposits unrelated to human activity, volcanic activity, and emissions by termites.

Anthropogenic

sources:
Natural sources that have always been a part of the methane cycle include:
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.
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.

By country

Country19702012
10,20213,763
1,7642,644
12,85748,527
713
n.a.n.a.
23,37718,974
2443
84,91888,476
1,3183,426
1023
94,291125,588
9,0228,007
6,39819,955
94227
7913,379
91,305105,142
100109
12,12516,620
14,1239,243
96228
3,4616,983
2031
6981,770
16,50923,231
3,1743,140
5,2324,448
207,737477,077
1319
1,6154,539
9,94011,794
4,61314,957
1,4692,719
46151
20,08735,915
8,28618,516
67,296106,847
1229
28,89085,677
8,04318,364
Channel Islandsn.a.n.a.
10,91318,381
781,0881,752,290
36,92167,979
142284
119,58375,336
6,6777,156
2,5992,315
7,80316,266
2,9864,708
13,6008,560
n.a.n.a.
341642
17,96311,902
7,6927,603
149634
1641
3,7876,861
6,62115,786
20,77851,977
2,2393,032
762,959
1,7972,894
2,2082,235
32,68764,481
3039
416715
9,9728,552
82,88281,179
4199
8763,894
4951,039
3,4935,019
126,69255,721
5,23021,078
37
5,8728,255
1829
2537
3071
3,2176,877
7,14828,654
5421,421
2,0662,124
2,9564,587
2,5525,844
7043,147
10,3957,135
308359
398,212636,396
126,665223,316
52,013121,298
19,68224,351
10,17014,330
n.a.n.a.
1,3013,416
40,48835,238
8211,316
101,80438,957
3622,115
68,23871,350
12,00928,027
516
15,00718,983
25,94932,625
n.a.n.a.
21,91012,691
4,5614,291
6,97615,011
3,3233,181
5451,150
1,1301,287
4931,586
29,69518,495
n.a.n.a.
4,5844,806
7141,169
49151
2,0331,396
15,19420,070
3,1894,629
14,31734,271
1352
8,28118,042
98141
28
3,1576,082
169311
60,999116,705
1730
2,0683,456
n.a.n.a.
6,7356,257
n.a.n.a.
8,48612,012
12,7939,968
75,25480,637
4,0045,097
13
17,36423,982
20,20419,026
180215
25,05428,658
4,0076,492
5,1856,858
35,19689,782
212
6,86616,409
4,57116,858
56,503158,337
11
2,3243,378
9482,143
10,14516,246
13,70419,321
43,21157,170
97,17465,071
6,73112,976
1,2772,406
4,77641,124
32,42525,708
338,496545,819
1,3022,942
63133
n.a.n.a.
1746
31,74062,903
4,6059,928
n.a.n.a.
924
2,5543,352
6582,386
n.a.n.a.
4,5744,075
2,0992,822
1,6311,449
9,54216,206
32,27063,156
n.a.n.a.
26,50937,208
11,33811,864
2630
2844
n.a.n.a.
2340
31,75296,531
941709
9211,377
10,08210,304
4,8784,900
2,42512,783
2,8145,408
25,21827,994
71,444106,499
412732
2,0565,343
3261
1,59614,789
2,5317,647
32,78978,853
10,82122,009
16
23
8,56521,161
74,35268,061
12,87326,120
120,05458,980
594,255499,809
14,52419,549
16,83147,333
128254
35,15158,199
54,145113,564
Virgin Islands 1647
n.a.n.a.
2,2058,940
33,8816,551
8,4978,589
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, which has a far smaller impact on climate. Replacing all atmospheric methane with would reduce total greenhouse gas warming by approximately one-sixth.
Zeolite is a crystalline material with a porous molecular structure. 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. At a carbon price of $500/ton, removing one ton of methane would earn $12,000.