‘It is the methane moment.’ How a once ignored greenhouse gas moved to center stage

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By Warren Cornwall, Science Magazine. 

Excerpt: ...The potent heat-trapping molecule was once a footnote in discussions about climate change, largely because it breaks down much faster and is less abundant in the atmosphere than the more notorious greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Now, however, researchers and policymakers are paying more attention to reducing methane. Yesterday, more than 90 nations signed the Global Methane Pledge, promising to pursue a 30% cut in emissions by 2030. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced plans to, for the first time, heavily regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Some companies, meanwhile, have begun voluntary efforts to reduce methane emissions. In large part, such efforts are a response to recent research showing methane emissions—including leaks from producing natural gas, which is up to 90% methane—are far bigger and more common than previously thought.… [Note: methane eventually oxidizes into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), both of which are also greenhouse gases!]

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