What is Methane Politics?
Climate change research and policy frameworks almost always take carbon dioxide emissions as their starting point.
This is understandable. Rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are the most important direct factor in anthropogenic climate change. But methane (CH4) is also important, accounting for 26% of global heating since 1760.
And crucially, methane is different. It has very different chemical properties from CO2. It has a different emissions profile. And this all translates into some quite distinctive political dynamics.
The aim of our research on this theme is to explore this distinctiveness and specificity. We ask:
- How is CH4 politics different from CO2 politics?
- To what extent are these differences common across sites, sectors and scales?
- In what regards is CH4 politics not different from CO2 politics?
- What explains this specificity?
- What challenges and opportunities do the distinctive features of CH4 politics present?
Continue reading about the politics of methane emissions here >