Methane and Climate Change – What Does The Science Say?

In the media there has been a lot about methane from cows being a growing danger because of its contribution to global overheating and climate change. There has been huge expenditure, measuring how much methane cows burp, and whether feeding them seaweed reduces methane emissions.

It’s an understandable concern, because methane is a far stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Also methane has been highlighted as a problem in the latest UN IPCC Assessment Report. But what do actual measurements of atmospheric methane tell me? More graphs now. – I’m all about graphs!

From NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

The above graph stacks the Greenhouse Radiative Forcing (what humans have caused) from all the different long lasting greenhouse gases. It looks like they are all rising, but this is deceptive. The following graph takes the same data, but splits each gas into its own separate line.

CO2 is Carbon Dioxide, CH4 is Methane

I think this shows more clearly that warming from methane is hardly increasing at all. The villain of the piece is carbon dioxide, the only greenhouse gas that is rapidly increasing in the amount of warming it does.

So why all the media concentration on methane and cows? And why emphasis methane in the IPCC AR6? I think that the BBC series Big Oil vs The World tells us. Methane is clearly yet another diversion from Big Oil. They did after all get rid of the UN IPCC authors of AR5. Big Oil funded favourable politicians to power in the USA, who successfully lobbied to replace the IPCC scientists Big Oil didn’t like. This explains why AR6 overemphasises the importance of methane.

The danger of methane released by the melting of permafrost in a feedback loop is a different and real issue. And one more reason to start climbing down this dangerous ladder we are climbing.