Methane mitigation policies are not enough

Environment and Ecology Air Pollution

Context: According to a new study, only 13% of methane emissions are covered by global methane mitigation policies.

A greenhouse gas (GHG) responsible for 30% of the warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide (CO2).
However, it is 80 times more potent at warming than CO2.
Agriculture, fossil fuels as well as solid waste and wastewater are the three major sources of methane.
In India (3rd largest emitter of CH4) ~20% of its anthropogenic CH4 emissions come from agriculture (manure management), coal mines, municipal solid waste, etc.
According to the IPCC, the world must cut methane emissions by at least 30 % by 2030.

Methane policies are actions by governments that explicitly aim to monitor, prevent, or reduce methane emissions from anthropogenic sources.
Currently, 281 policies are in place across sectors that release methane, including energy, waste, and agriculture.
The researchers found that 90% of identified national policies were from three regions: North America (39%), Europe (30%), and Asia Pacific (21%).
The policies targeting fossil methane (coal, oil, and gas) are lower than biogenic methane (released by living organisms).
This trend has emerged despite readily available solutions to cut methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector.

In India, there are no effective policies targeting methane emissions from rice cultivation and biomass burning (burning of crop waste residues such as rice paddy straw.
In 1997, the Government of India designed a policy to extract Coal bed Methane from coal-bearing areas prior to the mining of coal. But the policy was ineffective in incentivising coal bed methane production.
At present, coal bed methane is not produced from any working or operational coal mines in the country.
Note: Coal bed methane is the methane produced during the coal formation process, which gets trapped on the surface of the coal in tiny pores and fractures.

Global Methane Pledge: Both the US and the EU have planned to cut methane emissions by 30% (by 2030) compared with the 2020 levels.
UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) strategy: To get policy-relevant data into the right hands for emissions mitigation.
Methane Alert and Response System (MARS): Launched at the COP27 to the UNFCCC in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, a nationwide strategy to boost biogas production has received significant funding.
ICAR’s National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project: Technologies (like System for Rice Intensification, Direct Seeded Rice) were developed to reduce methane emissions.
Crop Diversification Programme: Methane emissions are avoided due to the diversion of paddy to alternate crops like pulses, oilseeds, maize, cotton, and agro-forestry.

The policies should focus on super emitters, which are facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure, typically in the fossil-fuel, waste, or agriculture sectors, that emit methane at high rates.
While reducing livestock or rice-production-related emissions is challenging, India can contribute by reducing emissions associated with coal production