Rising levels of Methane emission from Wetlands

A recent study stated that Methane emissions from wetlands raised 5-6% from 2000-2006.

Findings of the report:

• Methane emissions from wetlands rose at a rate of 1.3-1.4 teragrams (1 Tg equals 1,000,000 tonnes) per year from 2000 to 2021.
• Emissions in 2020 and 2021 increased by 14-26 Tg per year and 13-23 Tg per year, respectively, compared to 2000-2006. 
• Methane is responsible for roughly 30 per cent of the rise in temperature since the pre-industrial period. It is also 84 times more potent on a 20-year timescale.

About Methane:

• Methane, a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) with an atmospheric lifetime of roughly a decade, is a potent greenhouse gas tens of times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere.
• Methane’s atmospheric concentration has more than doubled since pre-industrial times and is second only to carbon dioxide in driving climate change during the industrial era.
• Impact:
  • Methane contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant.
  • Ozone attributable to anthropogenic methane emissions causes approximately half a million premature deaths per year globally and harms ecosystems and crops by suppressing growth and diminishing production.
• Sources:
  • Approximately 60 per cent of total global methane emissions come from anthropogenic sources.
  • Of these, more than 90 per cent originate from three sectors:
    • fossil fuels- 35 per cent;
    • agriculture- 40 per cent;
    • Waste- 20 per cent
  • Wetlands like swamps, marshes, permafrost (permanently frozen ground), bog and fens are responsible for a third of total methane emissions.
• Reducing human-caused methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective strategies to rapidly reduce the rate of warming and contribute significantly to global efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Steps were taken to Curb Methane Emissions:

• COP 26 Pledges: At COP26 in Glasgow, over 100 countries signed an agreement to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
• MethaneSAT: Controlling methane emissions will require further scrutiny of its sources. To this end, satellites that will track methane leakage such as MethaneSAT have been planned to launch.
• The International Energy Forum (IEF) launched the IEF Methane Initiative in June 2021 to develop a methane emissions measurement methodology.