A global methane observation system to track climate feedbacks for verifiable climate impact

Abstract

Methane measurements, particularly of natural sources, need to be expanded considerably Methane’s outsized but short-lived contributions to atmospheric warming have positioned methane mitigation as a cornerstone of actionable, near-term global climate strategy. Yet, cutting anthropogenic methane emissions alone (i.e., from fossil fuels, livestock, rice cultivation, and waste management) will likely not avoid the worst climate outcomes. Natural methane sources, including those sensitive to climate-driven warming (i.e., from wetland and inland waters), account for over one-third of global methane emissions [see supplementary materials (SM) and table S1], making them a substantial component of the global methane budget, critical for understanding and constraining atmospheric methane growth (1–5). Natural sources, however, have been largely ignored over the past few decades in global methane emission reduction initiatives and efforts to strengthen methane source detection to guide mitigation planning. To inform any extension of the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) and other global initiatives, we propose an integrated Global Ecosystem Methane–Observation System (GEM-OS).

McKenzie Kuhn

Lab PI

Dr. Kuhn is a biogeochemist and physical geographer with interests in carbon and nutrient cycling in northern boreal and Arctic ecosystems.