Plugging methane leaks seen as a fast way to slow climate change
Experts say fixing large-scale methane leaks is one of the quickest ways to curb global warming, though many countries still lag behind. Turkmenistan, identified as the worst offender for mega-leaks, has now begun addressing them.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, trapping more than 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, and it is currently responsible for roughly a quarter of global heating. Despite this outsized impact, tens of thousands of unnecessary methane leaks continue to occur worldwide.
An investigation in 2023 uncovered around 1,000 so-called "super-emitter" methane leaks across the globe — unusually large, concentrated releases that are often relatively straightforward to stop. Turkmenistan was identified as the country with the worst record for these mega-leaks.
There are now early signs of change: Turkmenistan has begun working to plug these major leaks. Experts describe stopping such leaks as an "emergency brake" on climate change, since cutting methane delivers faster results than reducing carbon dioxide emissions, given methane's intense but comparatively short-lived effect on the atmosphere.
Not every country, however, is moving at the same pace. Several major methane-emitting nations have yet to take the necessary steps to stop their leaks, meaning a significant portion of this readily available climate benefit remains untapped.
The question of why such a comparatively simple fix, with the potential for a swift climate impact, is not being adopted more widely remains a live topic of debate among climate experts and policymakers.
