> Reducing methane emissions is vastly more effective at preventing climate change than reducing co2 emissions.
This statement caused me to do some light research. I discovered that methane is 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
> Methane emissions decay gradually, with an average lifetime of about 12 years (“perturbation lifetime”, which is what matters for climate purposes).
> This will increase by roughly 35% if methane concentrations double, or decrease roughly 25% if concentrations return to pre-industrial levels.
Methane is actually 150x-ish worse than CO2, but it breaks down over time. Ameliorated over a long time it's 25-30x worse.
Rough part is that breaking down methane depends on OH radicals in the air, of which there are a fixed amount. The more methane there is, the slower methane is broken down. If there were a sudden massive release of methane, it would stay at that 150x potency for a very long time. Fun!
> OH radicals in the air, of which there are a fixed amount
To make the complexity really mind-blowing, no, the amount is not fixed. It varies, and temperature is one of the largest factors. But it's not a simple relation, because air currents are also very important, and temperature also changes those.
Which is why oil production without a gas connection tends to flare the methane. With the renewable transition we will in a not too distant future just leave the oil in the ground instead.
Messaging and information on actual greenhouse gas emissions and impact have long been god awful, often to the point of borderline misinformation. It's a source of tremendous frustration, in part because spending enormous political capital solving the wrong problems is actively counter-productive
This statement caused me to do some light research. I discovered that methane is 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.