Methane Emergency

Dr. Peter Carter, Paul Beckwith and Regina Valdez discuss recently observed increases in atmospheric methane and the need to bring human driven methane under control. Recently observed upsurges from natural sources such as wetlands, which constitute a positive feedback, has alarmed scientists to the point of declaring a ‘Methane Emergency.’

This video was recorded on October 4th, 2022, and published on October 23rd, 2022.

Some of the topics discussed:

• How since COP26 in Glasgow, where over 100 countries signed the global methane pledge, which was to lower methane emissions by 30% by 2030, methane has actually gone up.
• The Global Warming Potential of Methane for 20 and 100 years.
• How methane in the atmosphere is increasing faster than ever and that experts have done the isotope studies and they believe that it is wetlands and how this is part of a climate system positive feedback loop.
• The importance of reducing human-caused methane emissions.
• The most recent atmospheric concentration of methane and how its level has increased 2.8 times from pre-industrial times.
• The Arctic Methane Emergency Group (AMEG)
• How the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere varies with latitude.
• How fossil fuel pollution in the atmosphere contributes to increases in ozone, a toxic gas at lower-altitude levels.
• How there are more sources of methane developing due to increased global average temperatures.
• and more. . .

Links

• Global Methane Pledge

• Global Warming Potential (Wikipedia)

• Scientists raise alarm over ‘dangerously fast’ growth in atmospheric methane

• Very Strong Atmospheric Methane Growth in the 4 Years 2014–2017: Implications for the Paris Agreement

• Fugitive emissions

• Arctic Methane Emergency Group

• Atmospheric methane

• Hydroxyl radical

• Ozone

• Vast Costs of Arctic Change (pdf)

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University

• Regina Valdez - Program Director, Climate Reality Project, NYC. GreenFaith Fellow and LEED Green Associate

Video Production:

• Charles Gregoire – Climate Reality Leader, Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP26 Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: Free Music Archive
• License: BY-NC 4.0

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions