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Don’t overlook methane emissions in the fight against climate change

Riccardo Puliti notes the progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but say removing methane from natural gas production and use could also make a substantial difference, especially if the combined efforts of industry and governments pay off

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A BP Florida operations manager looks over a methane gas well site, east of Bayfield, Colorado. Reducing or eliminating methane is an under-discussed method for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. Photo: AP
Riccardo Puliti
The transformation of the world’s energy systems lies at the heart of solutions to address the threat of climate change. From a quick glance at the headlines, it’s clear that things are moving fast.
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Decarbonisation of electricity generation, the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, is still in its early stages, but is picking up pace as adoption of renewable sources of energy – particularly wind and solar – becomes widespread. Decarbonisation of transport – by phasing out fossil-fuel burning vehicles – has just begun, but recent advances in technologies and announcements by China, India and European countries on national goals for electric vehicles indicate that this challenge could soon be addressed on a large scale.
Less discussed is another huge contribution the energy sector could make to climate mitigation: getting methane out of energy production and use. While carbon dioxide is a much longer-lasting greenhouse gas – with a life cycle of centuries, compared to roughly 10 years for methane – methane is more than 80 times as potent, and makes up 16 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Natural gas is made up mostly of methane. At many points of the life cycle of gas, methane makes its way into the atmosphere – from extraction at a gas field all the way to the heating systems many of us have in our homes.

Natural gas is often referred to as a “transition fuel” – both because of the role it is able play in balancing wind and solar energy in electricity grids, and the assumption that its use will eventually decline as the world moves toward a low-carbon energy sector. It is entirely possible that, in electricity generation, renewable energy sources – backed up by batteries – may take natural gas’ share in the coming years if costs come down further.

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