Methane gets second billing in climate-change discussions, but it’s a huge problem, accounting for 30 percent of the planet’s rise in temperature. CO2 stays in the atmosphere for centuries; CH4 hangs around for just a decade, but traps many times more heat. Oil wells, cattle, landfills, cattle, coal mines—and did we mention cattle?—account for much of the problem.

Methane from human activity is emitted by five key industries: oil and gas, coal, agriculture, solid waste, and wastewater.

To read the report, see “Curbing methane emissions: How five industries can counter a major climate threat,” September 23, 2021.