Methane gas emissions are increasingly becoming a driver of the climate crisis. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, published a new report this Monday to raise awareness about possible actions that can be taken.
The document is titled “Methane Emissions in Livestock and Rice Systems”. It describes strategies for measuring and mitigating harmful effects on the climate system, according to a note from “UN News”.
Combating global warming
Methane is a greenhouse gas. It contributes about 20% of global gas emissions that cause global warming. Additionally, it is at least 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo stated that countries that commit to reducing gas emissions contribute to “more efficient, inclusive, resilient, low-emission and sustainable agri-food systems.”
The report aims to make agri-food systems contribute to the Global Methane Promise. Thus, more than 150 countries have endorsed the initiative with the aim of reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. This would avoid more than 0.2°C average increase in global temperature by 2050.
Methane sinks
In addition to agri-food systems, other human activities that generate emissions of this gas, after all, include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, coal mines, among others, in fact.
About 32% of global methane emissions previously came from microbial processes. These processes occur during enteric fermentation in ruminant livestock and manure management systems. Another 8% of emissions originate from rice fields.
Another fundamental environmental factor is how soils serve as a sink for methane. The research carried out in the report indicates that upland forest soils are the most efficient at this, especially in temperate biomes, with storage rates four times higher than those on agricultural land.
Source: datagro
