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Cutting the super-potent greenhouse gas methane quickly and dramatically is the world’s best hope to slow and limit the worst of global warming, a new United Nations report says.
If human-caused methane emissions are cut by nearly in half by 2030, a half degree (0.3 degrees Celsius) of warming can be prevented by mid-century, according to Thursday’s report by the United Nations Environment Programme.
The report said the methane reduction would be relatively inexpensive and achievable by plugging leaks in pipelines, stopping venting of natural gas during energy drilling, capturing gas from landfills and reducing methane from belching livestock and other agricultural sources, which is the biggest challenge.
Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions unep.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from unep.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UN: Cutting methane quickly key to curbing dangerous warming
by By Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press
Posted May 6, 2021 11:46 am EDT
Last Updated May 6, 2021 at 11:58 am EDT
Cutting the super-potent greenhouse gas methane quickly and dramatically is the world’s best hope to slow and limit the worst of global warming, a new United Nations report says.
If human-caused methane emissions are cut by nearly in half by 2030, a half degree (0.3 degrees Celsius) of warming can be prevented by mid-century, according to Thursday’s report by the United Nations Environment Programme.
The report said the methane reduction would be relatively inexpensive and could be achieved by plugging leaks in pipelines, stopping venting of natural gas during energy drilling, capturing gas from landfills and reducing methane from belching livestock and other agricultural sources, which is the biggest challenge.
Press Release – Greenpeace Greenpeace is today urging the Government to heed United Nations advice to rapidly cut climate pollution from methane through lowering cow stocking rates and cutting synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. The report , produced by the United Nations Environment …
Greenpeace is today urging the Government to heed United Nations’ advice to rapidly cut climate pollution from methane through lowering cow stocking rates and cutting synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
The report, produced by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, declares that cutting methane emissions is even more important than previously thought, and that that rapid action to cut methane emissions could limit climate damage.
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A few pounds of damaged fruit here, a couple of uneaten sides left behind at a restaurant there. It may not seem like much, but it adds up. In fact, it amounts to nearly one billion tons of wasted food per year globally according to the United Nations Environment Program.
The situation is particularly dire in the United States, where food waste comprises 22% of municipal solid wasteâthe most of any one kind of item. Once in landfill, food produces the potent and harmful greenhouse gas methane. In fact, food waste alone is estimated to account for around 8% of human-related greenhouse gas emissions globally, even more than the airline industry.