Methane emissions are the low-hanging fruit of the climate transition
Methane emissions are the low-hanging fruit of the climate transition
Methane is well known for coming from ruminants digestive system. What is less known is its important role in current climate change and what we could do to drastically reduce our emissions.
Methane (CH4) is the second main greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2). However, while CO2 will persist in the atmosphere for centuries, methane reacts with other air molecules. The lifetime of methane in the atmosphere is approximately nine years, before it is consumed into CO2. CH4 molecules also have a much stronger warming potential than carbon dioxide: 84 times larger on a 20-year time scale. That's why reducing methane emissions can have immediate and relatively effective impact on our climate.
The European Union (EU) has recently voted unprecedented measures to reduce our emissions, but what is concerned by this law?
What emits methane?
In Europe, emissions are mainly from agriculture (38% in 2022, JRC 2023), through the digestive system of ruminants. (...)
A significant part (globally 30% in 2017 Saunois et al., 2020) of anthropogenic emissions, meaning from human activities, comes from the fossil fuel industry. (...)
In Europe, the majority of methane emissions caused by the fossil fuel industry is from leaks.
Things are starting to change
In 2020, the European Commission announced the creation of the international methane emissions observatory (IMEO). Then, in November 2023, came a series of measures designed to tackle methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry, as part of the "European Green Deal," and passed by a majority vote on 10 April 2024.
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I read methane and immediately translated it in my head to "cows" lol. I'm sure the vegans and vegetarians will hate me for saying I do think humans are naturally supposed to eat meat, but nowhere near as much as the typical western diet. The easy answer here (that would also be a lot better for our health) would be to just not eat red meat for every gotdamn meal.
Vegan here, no hate from me - we can debate your use of the word "supposed" until we both pass out, but at the end of the day, I'm 100% supportive of the "weekday vegan / vegetarian" - people who save meat for weekends/special occasions (and I would strongly encourage those weekend meat eaters to avoid red meat at all times both for their health and the environment).