Experts sound alarm over new findings from NASA study on Earth’s atmosphere: ‘Those are red flags.’
“One of the worst performers in our study is the US.”
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A new Kayrros study shows that the United States continues to emit more planet-warming methane each year, despite international efforts to curb pollution, reports the New York Times.
What’s happening?
Kayrros, an environmental data company, released findings from fossil fuel facilities where large quantities of methane are intentionally burned off and released, known as “flaring” and “venting,” into the Earth’s atmosphere.
The company found that the US is releasing more methane in the atmosphere than before. According to the Times, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is now over two and a half times as much as preindustrial levels. Over half of methane pollution is human-made.
While many environmental efforts to curb planet-warming pollution have focused on carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, methane is more potent in the short term. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is over 28 times more powerful in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
According to a report from Environmental Research Letters, methane heats the air almost 90 times faster than carbon dioxide during the first 20 years after release. This means that methane is a large contributor to air pollution’s effects and to higher average temperatures that impact water availability, heat waves, and droughts, according to NASA.
Why is this study important?
In 2021, the United States was one of the first signers of an international pact, the Global Methane Pledge, as the New York Times explained. The pledge has the target of reducing human-made pollution of methane by 30% by 2030. Originally, the pledge was signed by about 30 countries—now it has been signed by 158 countries.
“One of the worst performers in our study is the US, even though it was an instigator of the Global Methane Pledge,” said Antoine Halff, the co-founder of Kayrros, per the Times. “Those are red flags.”
Halff added: “2030 is rapidly approaching, though, and emissions are still being released in huge amounts. This seems in large part because oil and gas production is surging both in the US and elsewhere.”
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Link to | Experts sound alarm over new findings from NASA study on Earth’s atmosphere.
Here’s a link to the actual study. It is entitled “Human activities now fuel two-thirds of global methane emissions.” Canada is among the jurisdictions for which data are presented–the reader will have to examine the figures to get a feel for how various jurisdictions compare.
Link to | Human activities now fuel two-thirds of global methane emissions.