4 Ways Water Mitigates Methane
Lakes are drying, cities are flooding, crops are failing and the world still isn’t doing everything it can to slow climate change. This month leaders will gather at the Global Methane Forum to discuss how to turn national pledges to reduce 30 percent of methane emissions by 2030, into targeted action in the agriculture, energy and waste sectors. Improving water management provides enormous opportunities to drastically reduce methane emissions in and beyond these sectors that we cannot afford to miss.
Methane emissions account for about one-third of net warming experienced over the past century. These emissions are more potent and hit faster than carbon dioxide – methane warms the planet over 80 times more powerfully than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period. Methane emissions are also widely underreported and underestimated (particularly from the water sector). Reducing them is promoted as the single most effective strategy to keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5˚C.
We can reduce several hundred millions of tonnes of methane emissions through investment in technologies and improvements to water management in agriculture, energy, sanitation and natural systems.
There is a credible argument to be made that water is the most valuable element to methane reductions, as it is an X factor to reducing emissions in all fields.
Here are four ways we can harness water to mitigate methane:
1 | Managing wastewater and sanitation
The Global Methane Initiative estimates that 7% of total anthropogenic methane emissions come from wastewater; though recent research indicates these are underestimated. These do not cover non-sewered sanitation systems, which may produce another 4% of global anthropogenic methane emissions. The opportunity for methane reduction across wastewater treatment and sanitation are significant. In treatment plants, methane can even be captured and used for production of biogas. Actively managed sanitation for onsite sanitation systems, which focuses on moving faecal waste faster and maintaining infrastructure reduces methane emissions through leaks.
2 | Addressing irrigation in agriculture
In agriculture, specifically rice, making changes to irrigation can have a massive impact on emission reduction. For example, methods employed through sustainable rice intensification (SRI) or the use of drip irrigation for rice production can reduce methane emissions by 50-90 percent.
3 | Reducing emissions from dams and reservoirs
In energy development, the design and operation of dams can be shifted to minimize conditions that allow the gas to leak out. For example, by drawing water closer to the surface, we can significantly or totally remove emissions from methane degassing. To maximize the needed benefits of hydropower, we must invest to minimize preventable emissions.
4 | Showcasing water as a solution
If we look across sectors, we see emissions reductions opportunities from water are even greater than landfills and livestock. The International Energy Agency lead Global Methane Tracker does not even include emissions from hydropower reservoirs under energy emissions. Polluted and altered water bodies emit higher volumes of methane, and can transform them from carbon sinks to major sources. We need water authorities and professionals engaged as solution providers and incentivized to join at the table. Connecting water across global and national action methane emissions is needed to spur investment in concrete measures.
There are many more ways we can leverage water to reduce methane emissions. We cannot manage methane if we don’t manage water better. Let’s paste water across pledges and plans for emissions reductions and help turn the tide to limit climate change.
