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Insight and Environment

Methane is much worse than CO2 – here’s what we should do about it

Methane is an underappreciated but potent greenhouse gas. How we deal with it will have a massive impact on averting the worst consequences of climate change

By Graham Lawton

1 December 2021

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The biggest source of methane is agriculture, mainly from livestock

Jo-Anne McArthur on Unsplash

After a year of weather extremes, there can no longer be any doubt that the climate is warming rapidly, and no doubt that carbon dioxide is slowly cooking the planet. But the immediate culprit is a different gas altogether: methane.

A potent greenhouse gas, methane is largely responsible for the current rate of warming. It is thus a vital target in the fight to keep global temperature rises below the Paris Agreement’s goal of 1.5°C – as well as offering some …

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