Methane pollution still rises, but UN reports hope for near future reductions

Global efforts to curb emissions of the potent but short-lived heat-trapping gas methane are doing about as poorly as the more prevalent carbon dioxide, but there's hope for the next five years, U.N. officials said Monday.

Methane emissions can be a “hand brake” for slowing greenhouse gas pollution and temperatures, said Martina Otto, head of the U.N.'s climate and clean air commission for methane pollution. That's because methane from fossil fuels traps nearly 30 times the heat of the more common carbon dioxide, but because they don't last nearly as long in the air, fast action to cut methane could have a big effect on controlling warming, she said.

If countries do what they say in their climate-fighting plans, global methane emissions in 2030 will be 8% below 2020 levels, Otto said. Th