Reducing methane emissions can play a key role in reducing ozone worldwide Date:

A new report points to inexpensive and profitable solutions to reduce methane emissions in the energy, waste, wastewater and agriculture sectors.Methane (CH4) is the main ingredient in natural gas. It is the second most important greenhouse gas (GHG) after carbon dioxide (CO2), and it also leads to the formation of another GHG -- ozone.Ozone has harmful effects for people, ecosystems and agricultural productivity. It is a so-called "short-lived climate forcer." This term refers to pollutants that remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than CO2 but have a much greater potential to warm the atmosphere.

The life span of short-lived climate pollutants is usually less than 15 years, unlike CO2 which stays in the atmosphere for about 100 years.Since the pre-industrial era, methane concentrations have more than doubled. And after a period of stagnation, they are increasing again since the last decade.

"Worldwide, methane emissions increased by 17% between 1990-2012, compared to a 53% increase in CO2 emissions. The methane emissions of the EU28 and the contributions of methane to the overall EU GHG emissions declined substantially in the 1990s, but in the last 15 years the rate of decline has been much less," explains JRC researcher Rita Van Dingenen. If nothing is done about reducing methane emissions worldwide, they could cause between 40,000 and 90,000 more premature deaths globally by 2050, compared to the present situation.