COP26 negotiators and scientists are shifting their immediate attention from not only cutting CO2 emissions, but also slashing methane (CH4) emissions from fossil fuel, agricultural, and landfill sources. A hundred nations last week pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.<br />”<br />”Methane only exists at roughly 2 parts per million in the atmosphere, compared to 412 parts per million for CO2. But the methane molecule (CH4) traps as much as 85 times more heat than the more abundant polluting CO2.<br />”<br />”But while carbon dioxide remains in the sky like a warming blanket for hundreds of years, methane largely dissipates in roughly a decade – making it a ripe target for nations to attack in their effort to slow the ominous quickening pace of global warming<br />”<br />”Methane is emitted from a variety of anthropogenic (human-influenced) and natural sources. Anthropogenic emission sources include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes.<br />”<br />”<span style="color: #222222;">Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices, land use and by the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills. Experts opined that to reduce methane emission is not a costly affair and easily achievable.</span><br />