shows that “continue to move rapidly in the wrong direction”, according to the director of US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), Rick Spinrad. Methane levels in the atmosphere rose to a record high around the world in 2021, according to the American public agency, which warns of the need to reduce emissions of this very powerful greenhouse gas. CO2 levels have also continued to rise sharply, the agency points out in its annual report published on Thursday 7 April.
Methane is the second most contributing gas to global warming, after CO2. Its lifetime in the atmosphere is shorter than that of CO2 – about ten years –, but its warming power is much higher.
According to NOAA, the increase in methane levels in the atmosphere was 17 ppb (parts per billion) last year, the largest annual increase recorded since measurements began in 1983. Methane levels in the the atmosphere reached 1,895 parts per billion last year. In 2020, the increase was 15 ppb, and was already a record.
Scientists estimate that 30% of methane emissions are linked to the fossil fuel sector. “Reducing methane emissions is an important tool that we can use now to reduce the consequences of climate change in the short term”recalled Rick Spinrad.
At the end of February, the International Energy Agency (IEA) had also pleaded to tackle the problem. Its annual report noted that methane emissions linked to the oil, gas and coal sectors had started to rise again in 2021.
At the UN COP26 in Glasgow, a commitment to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 was presented. But of the five main emitters due to their activities in fossil fuels – the China, Russia, Iran, India and the United States – only Washington has so far signed it.