Why Electrify?

Why Electrify? In a word, the answer is METHANE, the main chemical component in natural gas, one of our most widely used energy sources. And one we need to wean ourselves from quickly in order to slow global warming.

The Bad News

In 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that methane has caused at least one third of global warming since 1850. Rising amounts of methane (CH₄) in our atmosphere have contributed to global warming and at a much faster rate than the main culprit, carbon dioxide (CO₂). Additionally, there has been a spike in methane release in recent years, much of which is attributed to human activities. (1)

A major factor in that spike is the methane leaks that occur at every stage of natural gas production, transport, and use, and from oil drilling as well.  And it turns out that any amount of such methane release contributes to global warming and is dangerous to human health. (2)

For quite a while, natural gas has been considered a clean-burning fossil fuel, a “bridge fuel” to help us transition from coal and oil to renewable energy sources, as natural gas combustion produces relatively little carbon dioxide. Now we know that the dangers of methane in natural gas are significant.

For one thing, the risk to human health from the indoor pollution produced by gas-powered appliances is increasingly supported by scientific and public health research. Even when a gas stove is turned off, it continues to leak small but measurable amounts of component gases. Children are particularly vulnerable; many studies suggest that children are more prone to develop asthma in homes with gas stoves. Atmospheric methane release also increases dangerous, ground-level ozone levels, damaging to plants and animals, including us humans! (3, 4, 5, 6)

In addition, the release of methane into the atmosphere has an outsized effect on the process of global warming. Methane heats the climate more than 80 times as much as an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide over the first two decades after its release (80:1). And human activity has significantly increased the release of methane into the atmosphere, well beyond the amount produced by natural processes. Science is increasingly able to assess the impact of that increased methane on the atmosphere. The news is not good, but there is a significant silver lining. (7)

The Good News

Using current technology, we could potentially cut human-produced methane by 45% by 2030. The estimated benefit would be a global temperature reduction of 0.3 degrees C. Given that our current international goal is keep global warming below 1.5 or at most 2 degrees C, that is a significant reduction! (8)

Methane emissions impact global temperatures more swiftly than carbon dioxide, both coming and going.

Reducing methane production would reduce global warming because…

• While methane production increases global warming much more quickly than carbon dioxide, methane also dissipates from the atmosphere at a much faster rate
  • The climate impact ratio of CH₄:CO₂ is 80:1 over two decades, but declines to a 25:1 ratio when averaged over a century
• Carbon dioxide emissions take centuries to dissipate, while methane only lasts for about a decade in the atmosphere
• Cutting methane emissions would quickly reduce a significant source of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (9, 10)

Sarah Smith from the Clean Air Task Force sums up the current scientific consensus: “Decarbonization is critical for slowing long-term warming, but it doesn’t provide any reduction in warming for 20 to 30 years, and we simply can’t wait. We have to address methane.” In other words, we have to do both/and. Methane is the “low-hanging fruit” that could make a significant difference in the short term, while we continue to cut CO₂ for the long term. (11)

And what about other sources of methane in the atmosphere? Methane has been emitted into the atmosphere through natural processes for millions of years, and in historical times humans have been adding to those emissions in numerous ways, including through agriculture and waste disposal. I will address those sources and their potential solutions in future blogs, but let’s take one at a time! Here I am addressing the methane emissions from energy production which make up an estimated one-third of all human-caused methane emissions, or about one sixth of all global methane, since human activities produce more than half of global methane emissions. (12, 13)

So what can we do to reduce methane emissions, to potentially slow down global warming and avoid near-term climate tipping points?

My next blog will share solutions and progress: How to Electrify: Cutting Methane Emissions at Home, in Community, in the World

Sources

1. UN Environment Programme – Methane Emissions Are Driving Climate Change. Here’s How to Reduce Them
2. Stanford University – Global Methane Emissions Soar to Record High
3. Harvard University – Have a Gas Stove? How to Reduce Pollution That May Harm Health
4. Inside Climate News – Indoor Pollutant Concentrations Are Significantly Lower in Homes Without a Gas Stove
5. NOAA – Increase in Atmospheric Methane Set Another Record During 2021
6. Yale University – Ozone Pollution: An Insidious and Growing Threat to Bioloodiversity
7. NASA – Methane Matters: Scientists Work to Quantify the Effects of a Potent Greenhouse Gas
8. UN Environment Programme – New Global Methane Pledge Aims to Tackle Climate Change
9. Real Climate – The Definitive C02/CH4 Comparison Post
10. US EPA – Overview of Greenhouse Gases
11. Volts Podcast – All About Methane, with Sarah Smith of the Clean Air Task Force (also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.)
12. Catalyst w/Shayle Kann – Why Methane Matters (also available on Spotify, etc)
13. The Hill – COP27: A Global Methane Agreement Can Prevent Climate Catastrophe