BEIJING: China made public an action plan dedicated to methane emission control on Wednesday, committing to a series of specific targets in different sectors. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that, despite the relatively short time it spends in the atmosphere, has a significant contribution to global warming in the short term.
The latest official data on China’s methane emissions comes from 2018, published by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The data shows that, as of 2014, methane emissions accounted for 10.4 percent of China’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with the most methane emissions coming from energy activities, at about 520 million metric tons, followed by emissions from agricultural activities, at about 467 million tons.
The plan defines the key tasks for controlling methane emissions in various fields by 2025. The country will take steps to reduce methane emissions and improve methane utilization in the fields of oil and gas extraction, said the document issued by 11 central government bodies, including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. By 2025, for instance, the coal-mining sector is expected to collect 6 billion cubic meters of coal bed gas, which contains methane, for utilization, it said. The action plan also pledges to improve facilities for storage and disposal of dung in livestock farms, which is another significant emitter of methane. It said efforts will be made to promote closed systems for dung disposal. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item