Methane emissions are rising at record rates—and we don’t yet have the systems we need to fully monitor, understand, or respond to this threat.
Over the past two decades, atmospheric methane concentrations have climbed sharply and now cause about 30% of observed global warming. What’s especially concerning is that methane concentrations appear to be rising faster than human activities alone can explain. Growing evidence points to a dangerous feedback loop: as the planet warms, wetlands and thawing permafrost release more methane, which in turn drives even more warming. These warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions are among the least monitored and least understood climate risks.
Why is this problem so concerning? Methane is many times more potent than carbon dioxide over the short term. Even modest increases from natural sources could significantly alter our climate trajectory. We need to better understand and predict these emissions to know what climate futures we may face, and act appropriately—not only by cutting greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible, but also by researching additional ways of preventing, addressing, or responding to these emissions.
Next week, I’ll join colleagues Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz (Arizona State University), Rob Jackson (Stanford University), and Sue Natali (Woodwell Climate Research Center) in co-organizing a workshop with the Aspen Global Change Institute focused on this very issue: Methane Alert: An Integrated Measurement Framework to Monitor Increasing Natural Methane Emissions. Together with an international group of leading scientists, we’ll explore the necessary components needed to build and help advance efforts being made to develop an integrated, global framework for better detecting and predicting changes in natural methane emissions—and discuss how to use that knowledge to respond to this growing threat.
Spark’s support for this workshop is part of our new Warming-Induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions program, which is working with a coalition of partners to improve measurement of rising emissions from natural systems. With this information, warming-induced emissions can be incorporated in the global policy and mitigation response to climate change. This includes setting climate policies and greenhouse gas mitigation and removal targets at the right level of ambition to offset rising natural emissions, as well as researching additional options to potentially slow the growth of these emissions to limit warming from driving even more warming.
Understanding and addressing these warming-induced emissions on the timescales needed to act will require rapidly accelerating the development of new fields and tools. You can’t do that without strong collaboration across disciplines. At a time of limited global coordination and shifting climate priorities, convenings like this Aspen Global Change Institute workshop help bring experts from key disciplines and geographies together, identify critical gaps and opportunities, and accelerate the science and solutions we need to reach a safe and stable climate.
While much of the workshop is invitation only, there will be a free public lecture by Dr. Ruth Varner, University of New Hampshire, on Measuring Methane in the Arctic: Training the Next Generation of Researchers Through Fieldwork on October 14, which you can register for here.
Methane is sending us a warning. We need to build up the systems to listen and to act.
Methane emissions are rising at record rates—and we don’t yet have the systems we need to fully monitor, understand, or respond to this threat.
Over the past two decades, atmospheric methane concentrations have climbed sharply and now cause about 30% of observed global warming. What’s especially concerning is that methane concentrations appear to be rising faster than human activities alone can explain. Growing evidence points to a dangerous feedback loop: as the planet warms, wetlands and thawing permafrost release more methane, which in turn drives even more warming. These warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions are among the least monitored and least understood climate risks.
Why is this problem so concerning? Methane is many times more potent than carbon dioxide over the short term. Even modest increases from natural sources could significantly alter our climate trajectory. We need to better understand and predict these emissions to know what climate futures we may face, and act appropriately—not only by cutting greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible, but also by researching additional ways of preventing, addressing, or responding to these emissions.
Next week, I’ll join colleagues Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz (Arizona State University), Rob Jackson (Stanford University), and Sue Natali (Woodwell Climate Research Center) in co-organizing a workshop with the Aspen Global Change Institute focused on this very issue: Methane Alert: An Integrated Measurement Framework to Monitor Increasing Natural Methane Emissions. Together with an international group of leading scientists, we’ll explore the necessary components needed to build and help advance efforts being made to develop an integrated, global framework for better detecting and predicting changes in natural methane emissions—and discuss how to use that knowledge to respond to this growing threat.
Spark’s support for this workshop is part of our new Warming-Induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions program, which is working with a coalition of partners to improve measurement of rising emissions from natural systems. With this information, warming-induced emissions can be incorporated in the global policy and mitigation response to climate change. This includes setting climate policies and greenhouse gas mitigation and removal targets at the right level of ambition to offset rising natural emissions, as well as researching additional options to potentially slow the growth of these emissions to limit warming from driving even more warming.
Understanding and addressing these warming-induced emissions on the timescales needed to act will require rapidly accelerating the development of new fields and tools. You can’t do that without strong collaboration across disciplines. At a time of limited global coordination and shifting climate priorities, convenings like this Aspen Global Change Institute workshop help bring experts from key disciplines and geographies together, identify critical gaps and opportunities, and accelerate the science and solutions we need to reach a safe and stable climate.
While much of the workshop is invitation only, there will be a free public lecture by Dr. Ruth Varner, University of New Hampshire, on Measuring Methane in the Arctic: Training the Next Generation of Researchers Through Fieldwork on October 14, which you can register for here.
Methane is sending us a warning. We need to build up the systems to listen and to act.
Methane emissions are rising at record rates—and we don’t yet have the systems we need to fully monitor, understand, or respond to this threat.
Over the past two decades, atmospheric methane concentrations have climbed sharply and now cause about 30% of observed global warming. What’s especially concerning is that methane concentrations appear to be rising faster than human activities alone can explain. Growing evidence points to a dangerous feedback loop: as the planet warms, wetlands and thawing permafrost release more methane, which in turn drives even more warming. These warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions are among the least monitored and least understood climate risks.
Why is this problem so concerning? Methane is many times more potent than carbon dioxide over the short term. Even modest increases from natural sources could significantly alter our climate trajectory. We need to better understand and predict these emissions to know what climate futures we may face, and act appropriately—not only by cutting greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible, but also by researching additional ways of preventing, addressing, or responding to these emissions.
Next week, I’ll join colleagues Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz (Arizona State University), Rob Jackson (Stanford University), and Sue Natali (Woodwell Climate Research Center) in co-organizing a workshop with the Aspen Global Change Institute focused on this very issue: Methane Alert: An Integrated Measurement Framework to Monitor Increasing Natural Methane Emissions. Together with an international group of leading scientists, we’ll explore the necessary components needed to build and help advance efforts being made to develop an integrated, global framework for better detecting and predicting changes in natural methane emissions—and discuss how to use that knowledge to respond to this growing threat.
Spark’s support for this workshop is part of our new Warming-Induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions program, which is working with a coalition of partners to improve measurement of rising emissions from natural systems. With this information, warming-induced emissions can be incorporated in the global policy and mitigation response to climate change. This includes setting climate policies and greenhouse gas mitigation and removal targets at the right level of ambition to offset rising natural emissions, as well as researching additional options to potentially slow the growth of these emissions to limit warming from driving even more warming.
Understanding and addressing these warming-induced emissions on the timescales needed to act will require rapidly accelerating the development of new fields and tools. You can’t do that without strong collaboration across disciplines. At a time of limited global coordination and shifting climate priorities, convenings like this Aspen Global Change Institute workshop help bring experts from key disciplines and geographies together, identify critical gaps and opportunities, and accelerate the science and solutions we need to reach a safe and stable climate.
While much of the workshop is invitation only, there will be a free public lecture by Dr. Ruth Varner, University of New Hampshire, on Measuring Methane in the Arctic: Training the Next Generation of Researchers Through Fieldwork on October 14, which you can register for here.
Methane is sending us a warning. We need to build up the systems to listen and to act.
Stay in touch
Sign up to our Spark newsletter and stay updated!
Menu
Stay in touch
Sign up to our Spark newsletter and stay updated!
made by
tonik.com
