Global Methane Pledge

Why in news

• The Global Methane Pledge was launched on 3^rd November 2021 at the UN COP26 climate conference in Glasgow

What is the Global Methane Pledge?

• The pledge was first announced in September by the US and EU, and is essentially an agreement to reduce global methane emissions.
• One of the central aims of this agreement is to cut down methane emissions by up to 30 per cent from 2020 levels by the year 2030.
• At least 90 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge, with India and China abstaining so far

What is methane?

• Methane (CH4) is a hydrocarbon that is a primary component of natural gas.
• Methane is the second-most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, after carbon dioxide, and, therefore, pledges related to cutting down its emissions are significant.
• According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, methane accounts for about half of the 1.0 degrees Celsius net rise in global average temperature since the pre-industrial era.
• According to the UN, 25 per cent of the warming that the world is experiencing today is because of methane.
• Because it is a greenhouse gas, its presence in the atmosphere increases Earth’s temperature.

Sources of methane emission:

• There are various sources of methane including human and natural sources.
• Natural sources:
  • Decay of plant material in wetlands, the seepage of gas from underground deposits or the digestion of food by cattle.
• Human sources:
  • Human sources of methane include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes.
  • The oil and gas sectors are among the largest contributors to human sources of methane.
  • NASA notes that human sources (also referred to as anthropogenic sources) of methane are responsible for 60 per cent of global methane emissions. These emissions come primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, decomposition in landfills and the agriculture sector.

Why is dealing with methane important for climate change?

• According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), while methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime (12 years as compared to centuries for CO2), it is a much more potent greenhouse gas simply because it absorbs more energy while it is in the atmosphere.
• In its factsheet on methane, the UN notes that methane is a powerful pollutant and has a global warming potential that is 80 times greater than carbon dioxide, about 20 years after it has been released into the atmosphere.
• The IEA has also said that more than 75 per cent of methane emissions can be mitigated with the technology that exists today, and that up to 40 per cent of this can be done at no additional costs.

Why hasn’t India signed the pledge?

• India is the third largest emitter of methane, primarily because of the size of its rural economy and by virtue of having the largest cattle population.
• India has stated earlier that it plans to deploy technology and capture methane that can be used as a source of energy.
• 20% of India’s anthropogenic methane emissions come from agriculture (manure management), coal mines, municipal solid waste, and natural gas and oil systems.
• To tap into this “potential,” the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) claims to have invested heavily in a national strategy to increase biogas production and reduce methane emissions.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following statements:

1. Methane is the second-most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, after carbon dioxide.

2. Methane has shorter atmospheric lifetime as compared to carbon dioxide

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer