In order to curb climate change, climate policies must go beyond mitigating CO2 emissions and focus on “short-lived climate pollutants” such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and black carbon, new research concludes.
The scientific study found that curbing climate change has to involve mitigation efforts focused on both near-term and long-term warming effects. Near-term warming refers to warming from now until 2050 and long-term warming from 2050 and beyond. The report also claims that pairing decarbonization, the reduction of CO2 emissions, with non-CO2 mitigation measures is essential to limit global warming while staying below the 2 ℃ threshold.
However, this isn’t the first study to identify the need for mitigating near-term warming. A report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2018 also identified the same need for a reduction in short-lived climate pollutants. Stating that climate strategies such as decarbonization, although helpful in reducing long-term warming, isn’t enough to mitigate near-term warming.
The global methane pledge is an example of collective action aimed at mitigating short-lived climate pollutants. The pledge, composed of over 100 countries, seeks to reduce global methane emissions by 30% below 2020 levels before 2030. Climate strategies, like the global methane pledge formed during COP26, can help mitigate the impact of methane – a pollutant that Texas is quite familiar with.
The short-lived climate pollutant, methane, is a potent greenhouse gas emitted during natural gas generation; natural gas makes up 46% of Texas’ generation fleet. Natural gas generation emits methane into the atmosphere throughout various stages of production, storage, or transmission. This poses severe public health risks and environmental challenges to soil, air, and water quality.
Currently, there are strategies that would curb methane emissions such as locating and fixing leaks and reducing flaring and venting, which all release additional methane into the atmosphere. The potency of methane demands swift action, as methane is 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Although methane is an infamous pollutant, black carbon, or soot, hydrofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxides also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
A review conducted by the United Nations in 1985 confirmed that non-CO2 greenhouse gases were contributing as much as CO2 to global warming and projected that these pollutants would continue to contribute as much as CO2, from 1980 to 2030. Recently, the IPCC’s latest report confirmed these findings to be true. Therefore, mitigating short-lived climate pollutants would be equally beneficial in reducing the harmful impacts of climate change.
Although this study isn’t the first of its kind, it reiterates the need for decarbonization to be coupled with reductions aimed at short-lived climate pollutants. Global commitments such as the global methane pledge, are an example of some initial steps, but further action needs to be implemented to maintain the 2 ℃ warming threshold.