Methane leaks: The climate “emergency brake” the world is ignoring

Methane traps more than 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. It causes 25% of global heating today. That makes it a prime target for slowing climate change fast. In 2023, environment editor Damian Carrington reported on 1,000 super-emitting methane leaks across the globe. The gas was spewing needlessly into the atmosphere. Turkmenistan was the worst country for these mega-leaks. Now, Turkmenistan has begun to plug them. Experts call stopping such leaks the climate “emergency brake.” The reason: cutting methane now can slow warming within years, not decades. But other countries are still failing to act. The question remains: why isn’t everyone doing it? The full video report is available here.