Climate Change, Human Dimensions and Sustainability

Methane and climate change

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas at the center of new rules and initiatives proposed at a major U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

While carbon dioxide is more abundant and longer-lived, methane – the main component of natural gas – is far more effective at trapping heat while it lasts. Over the first two decades after its release, methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of warming the climate system.

Stanford-led research shows global emissions of methane from human activities have barreled upward in recent decades, with fossil fuel sources and agriculture powering the climb. Other studies have shown how how to improve estimates of methane leaking from oil and gas operations, outlined a process for converting the gas into carbon dioxide, and highlighted the climate impact of oilfields that routinely burn, or flare, natural gas.

This collection features recent research and insights from Stanford experts on methane emissions and climate change.

A better way to track methane in the skies?

August 9, 2021

Several studies have found that the EPA underestimates the amount of methane leaking from U.S. oil and gas operations by as much as half. A new Stanford-led study shows how better data can lead to more accurate estimates and points to some of the causes of the EPA’s undercount.

Reducing global food system emissions key to meeting climate goals

November 9, 2020

Climate Change

Global methane emissions soar to record high

July 14, 2020

The pandemic has tugged carbon emissions down, temporarily. But levels of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane continue to climb, dragging the world further away from a path that skirts the worst effects of global warming.