This year, scientists are emphasizing the importance of focusing on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, in order to prevent catastrophic global warming. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report urging countries to make significant reductions in methane emissions in addition to cutting CO2 emissions. This plea may be concerning for countries using natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal, and may present challenges for countries with agriculture and livestock industries, particularly those reliant on cattle. Despite both methane and CO2 contributing to warming the atmosphere, they are not equivalent in their impact. A methane molecule has a more immediate impact on warming compared to a CO2 molecule, but CO2 remains in the atmosphere for a longer period of time. The recent IPCC report emphasizes the urgent need for the world to focus on reducing methane emissions, as it is the most effective and quickest strategy for slowing down global warming. The current global temperature is already 1.1C higher than the preindustrial average due to emissions since the mid-1800s. The report states that the world would have experienced an additional 0.5C of warming if pollution had not been reflecting some of the sun's radiation back into space. As the world moves away from fossil fuels and addresses air pollution, these aerosols will disappear, potentially causing temperatures to rise. The rapid reduction of methane could counteract this effect and improve air quality, according to Maisa Rojas Corradi, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Chile and author of the IPCC report summary. Methane emissions are responsible for about 30% of warming since the pre-industrial era on a global scale, as stated by the United Nations. The IPCC had not previously addressed the roles of methane, aerosols, and other short-lived climate pollutants until now. "The report highlights the immediate advantages of significant decreases in methane levels, not only in terms of atmospheric concentration but also in the positive impacts on human health due to improved air quality," stated Jane Lubchenco, who serves as the deputy director for climate and environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Recent advancements in technology and research indicate that methane emissions from sources such as oil and gas production, landfills, and livestock may have been previously underestimated. This report serves as a strong message to countries that produce and consume oil and gas, urging them to integrate aggressive methane reduction plans into their climate strategies, according to Mark Brownstein, the senior vice president of energy at Environmental Defense Fund. Brownstein also pointed out that addressing emissions from landfills and energy companies may be more feasible compared to tackling large-scale agricultural methane, as the necessary replacement technology on a larger scale is currently unavailable. The EU and the United States are both working on implementing stricter regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas companies this year. The US is expected to release regulations by September that are more stringent than those implemented by the Obama administration and later rolled back by President Trump. Together, the US and the EU account for over a third of global natural gas consumption. Countries like Brazil and Russia, which have less strict regulations on oil and gas production and agriculture, are also likely to be significant methane emitters, according to IPCC co-author Paulo Artaxo. He noted that quantifying methane leakage from gas and oil wells is a challenging task. If countries do not actively search for it, they will not discover it. Certain environmental organizations and government authorities have proposed a worldwide pact on methane similar to the Montreal Protocol, which successfully addressed ozone depletion. This agreement could initially focus on reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, as they already possess the necessary technology to achieve this, according to Armond Cohen, who leads the Clean Air Task Force, a climate technology organization based in Boston. Cohen emphasized that controlling methane emissions is a feasible task that does not require any complex or unfamiliar technology. "So, let's begin from that point."