Methane: TAPPING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

The report argues that reducing methane (CH4) emissions is critical for slowing global warming in the next two decades, particularly in the Arctic, due to methane's high warming potential and short atmospheric lifespan. It identifies agriculture, waste management, and energy production as the primary anthropogenic sources and evaluates the cost-effectiveness of various mitigation strategies. While sectors like natural gas and coal mining offer high low-cost reduction potentials, the report highlights significant barriers including inadequate regulation, financial risks, and limitations within the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. To address these, the document proposes the creation of a Global Methane Fund.

• Methane is a potent short-lived climate forcer that traps significantly more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2) over short timeframes: 72 times more over 20 years and 25 times more over 100 years. Because it remains in the atmosphere for only 8-12 years, immediate cuts can reduce concentrations within one to two decades, which is vital for protecting vulnerable regions like the poles.
• Human activities account for more than half of global methane emissions, with the primary sources being livestock (roughly 29%), fossil fuel production (25%), and waste treatment (25%). Within the energy sector, natural gas and oil systems contribute 17%, while coal mining contributes 8%.
• Mitigation potential varies by sector: natural gas and coal mining offer the most promising low-cost reductions. Natural gas emissions could see substantial reductions at $0-$30/tCO2e. Coal mine methane (CMM) reductions reach their maximum at $15/tCO2e. In contrast, agricultural reductions are limited by social and cultural barriers, with combined potentials ranging from 7% at zero cost to 14% at $60/tCO2e by 2020.
• Methane reduction provides significant public health benefits by reducing ground-level ozone pollution, a major component of smog. Modeling indicates that reducing methane by 65 Mt/yr starting in 2010 could prevent 370,000 premature deaths over a 20-year period.
• Several barriers hinder methane mitigation, including the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which excludes projects that capture emissions for fuel. Additionally, the current Global Warming Potential (GWP) credit of 21 CO2e for methane is based on a 100-year timeframe, failing to reflect its higher near-term impact or more recent scientific estimates (25 to over 30).
• Financial and legal obstacles include a lack of front-end funding for projects, expensive certification processes, and difficulties accessing electricity grids for landfill gas projects. The US EPA's "Methane to Markets" (M2M) program has helped by supporting over 170 projects in 16 countries, but it does not provide the equity needed for project implementation.

APA

PETTUS, A. (2009). Methane: TAPPING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093451/Methane-Tapping_the_Untapped_Potential.pdf

Chicago

PETTUS, ASHLEY. Methane: TAPPING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL. Clean Air Task Force, 2009. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093451/Methane-Tapping_the_Untapped_Potential.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=PETTUS |first1=ASHLEY |title=Methane: TAPPING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=December 2009 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093451/Methane-Tapping_the_Untapped_Potential.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pettus2009methane, author = {PETTUS, ASHLEY}, title = {{Methane: TAPPING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2009}, month = dec, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093451/Methane-Tapping_the_Untapped_Potential.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }