Emissions from fossil fuel production of the potent greenhouse gas methane is 25 to 40 percent higher than previously understood, researchers reported recently, shining a harsh spotlight on the global gas industry.
“Scientists have been vastly underestimating the amount of methane humans are emitting into the atmosphere via fossil fuels,” scientists from the University of Rochester in New York, who led the study, said in a statement.
The findings were published in Nature. Carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuels and deforestation accounts for about three quarters of all global warming.
Methane, which comes from both natural and manmade sources, is responsible for 16 percent.
Experts not involved in the study said it would force a reassessment of the role the fossil fuel industry must play in curbing climate change.
