Methane (CH4) is a gas that is the main component of natural gas. It is also produced by the decomposition of organic matter. Methane is a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming. It is also flammable and can be used as a fuel.
Methane occurs naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere and is produced by the decomposition of organic matter. Methane has been measured in air samples from Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan. It is also present in comets and meteorites. The methane in Earth’s atmosphere comes from both natural sources and human activity. Natural sources include wetlands, termites, volcanoes, and hydrothermal vents. Human-related sources include agriculture (e.g., livestock), landfills, coal mining, and leaks from natural gas systems.
Methane is an important greenhouse gas because it absorbs heat energy much more effectively than carbon dioxide (CO2). Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and cause the Earth’s average temperature to rise. As methane concentrations increase in the atmosphere, so does the amount of heat energy trapped – leading to further warming of our planet.
Over the past two centuries, atmospheric methane concentrations have more than doubled1 largely as a result of human activities such as agriculture (livestock farming and rice cultivation)2 , fossil fuel extraction3and waste disposal . If current trends continue unabated , atmospheric methane could increase by up to 25% over preindustrial levels by mid-century 4 5 6 This would amplify climate change , potentially resulting in catastrophic consequences for life on Earth .
The good news is that we have time to take action . Reducing methane emissions now will help slow down climate change in the near-term , providing us with valuable time to develop cleaner energy technologies that can replace fossil fuels altogether7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436437 438439 440441 442443 444 445446447 448449 450451 452453454455456 457 458 459 460461 462463 464 465466467468469 4704714724734744 475476477478479 480 481 482 483384485486