This year, scientists are emphasizing the importance of focusing on methane as a potent greenhouse gas in order to combat catastrophic global warming. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released a report urging countries to make significant reductions in methane emissions along with CO2 emissions. This plea may be concerning for countries that rely on natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal, as well as for countries with significant agriculture and livestock industries. Despite both methane and CO2 contributing to warming the atmosphere, they are not equally harmful. A methane molecule has a greater warming effect than a CO2 molecule, but while CO2 lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, methane disappears within two decades. The recent IPCC report is putting pressure on the world to prioritize reducing methane emissions, according to Durwood Zaelke, a reviewer of the report. Zaelke, who is the president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development in Washington, DC, stated that cutting methane 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 dating back to the mid-1800s. The report states that if pollution had not been reflecting some of the sun's radiation back out into space, the world would have experienced an additional 0.5C of warming. As the world moves away from fossil fuels and addresses air pollution, the aerosols causing this reflection will disappear, potentially leading to a spike in temperatures. The rapid reduction of methane could help offset this effect and also 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 contribute to around 30% of warming since the pre-industrial era on a global scale, as noted by the United Nations. The IPCC had not previously addressed the role of methane, aerosols, and other short-lived climate pollutants until now. “The report highlights the immediate advantages of significant decreases in methane, not only from a perspective of atmospheric concentration but also the added benefits to human health due to improved air quality,” mentioned 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 underestimated. This report serves as a clear message to countries involved in oil and gas production and consumption that they must include aggressive plans to reduce methane emissions in their climate strategies,” stated Mark Brownstein, who is the senior vice president of energy at Environmental Defense Fund. Brownstein also mentioned that addressing emissions from landfills and energy companies may be more manageable compared to agricultural methane, as the technology needed for large-scale replacement is not yet available. The EU is planning to implement new laws this year that will require oil and gas companies to monitor and report methane emissions, as well as repair any leaks. The United States is also expected to introduce methane regulations by September that are more rigorous than those put in place by the Obama administration but later repealed by former President Donald Trump. The US and the EU together account for over a third of global natural gas consumption. However, countries like Brazil and Russia, which do not have strict regulations on oil and gas production or agriculture, are also likely to be significant methane emitters, according to IPCC co-author Paulo Artaxo. He pointed out 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 officials are advocating for a worldwide treaty on methane, similar to the Montreal Protocol that addressed ozone depletion. This treaty could initially focus on reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, as they already possess the necessary technology to control these emissions, according to Armond Cohen, the executive director of the Clean Air Task Force, a climate technology group based in Boston. Cohen emphasized that reducing methane emissions is feasible and does not require any advanced technology. "So let's begin from that point."