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Cutting methane quickly key to curbing dangerous warming: UN
This combination of satellite images provided by the Kayrros data analytics company shows methane plumes, captured using specialised sensors overlaid on optical photos, rising from natural gas sites in Aliso Canyon north of Los Angeles on Oct 26, 2015 (left) and the Permian Basin in Texas on Nov 8, 2020. (Images: AP/Kayrros)
07 May 2021 12:44AM (Updated:
07 May 2021 12:45AM) Share this content
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NEW YORK: 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.
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.
Global Assessment: Urgent steps must be taken to reduce methane emissions this decade 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.
The United Nations
Methane emissions caused by human activity can be reduced by up to 45 per cent this decade, thus helping to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to a UN-backed report published on Thursday.
The Global Methane Assessment outlines the benefits of mitigating methane, a key ingredient in smog, which include preventing some 260,000 premature deaths and 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits annually, as well as 25 million tonnes in crop losses.
To reach the #ParisAgreement 1.5˚C target, we must reduce methane emissions in 3 sectors:
️Fossil Fuels: 60%
Agriculture: 20-25%
New @CCACoalition / UNEP assessment shows how this can be done quickly and cost-effectively.#CutMethanehttps://t.co/KOUfDJB5UV
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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.