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CLIMATE IMPACT

Consequences of an alternative emission metric

Nature Food volume 2, pages 918–919 (2021)Cite this article

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GWP* is an alternative emission metric that better represents the short-lived character of methane, but its application is not straightforward and can have a substantial impact on the design of mitigation policies in agriculture.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main contributor to global warming, but other greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) also have an important role. Emission metrics are used to compare the effect of GHG species on climate impact. The 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP100) is the most common metric and has so far been used in national reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in GHG-accounting standards for businesses. According to the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report1, the GWP100 values of a molecule of non-fossil CH4 and a molecule of N2O are, respectively, 27 and 273 times stronger than that of a molecule of CO2. Recent studies show that for short-lived GHGs such as methane, the GWP100 does not properly reflect the actual effect on temperature2,3. Methane has an average lifetime of 11.8 years1, whereas long-lived gases such as CO2 stay in the atmosphere for centuries and more. This means that stabilization of the CH4 concentration in the atmosphere results in only limited additional warming after that period, and a decline in CH4 emissions can even reduce warming. To better reflect this behaviour, an alternative metric, denoted GWP*, has been developed for short-lived GHGs. This metric is not based on the annual emission, but on the change in emission over time3,4.

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  1. Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    Jan Peter Lesschen

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  1. Jan Peter Lesschen
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Correspondence to Jan Peter Lesschen.

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Lesschen, J.P. Consequences of an alternative emission metric. Nat Food 2, 918–919 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00392-9

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