The most effective way to combat global warming is to reduce emissions of methane and nitric oxide
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
American climatologists have calculated that reducing global carbon emissions will solve the problem of global warming for too long. Much faster will cool down the Earth emissions of minor gases - methane and nitrogen oxide.
A team of scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), led by Dr. Stephen Montzka, concluded that the most effective way to combat global warming is to reduce emissions of not the main greenhouse gas - carbon dioxide, but other greenhouse gases - methane and nitric oxide. Methane and nitrogen oxide do not accumulate
These, as was always thought, secondary culprits of warming, as scientists explain, there is one important advantage. Carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere - it can remain there for several millennia. So cut it - do not cut it - there will not be a quick effect. And methane and nitric oxide do not live long in the atmosphere. Therefore, Montska believes, to cope with global warming, by reducing the number of short-lived greenhouse gases, can be much faster.
"We know that the warming of the climate is largely due to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels. And we perfectly understand that it is impossible to solve this problem quickly. After all, carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for a long time. But, in our opinion, there is an alternative way to solve this problem. Reducing other greenhouse gases - short-lived, can lead to a more rapid effect, "- says Montska.
So, according to climatologists, to stop global warming, you need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80%. The figure is almost unreal. In addition, to have a tangible effect, must pass a considerable amount of time, at least hundreds of years. Reducing the emissions of methane and nitrogen oxide by 80% should halt global warming in just a few dozen years. And if at the same time to reduce carbon dioxide and short-lived gas emissions, the expected effect will come even earlier, and the climate will cease to warm by the end of this century.
However, scientists pay attention to the fact that there are still many questions about the effect of greenhouse gases on the climate. As it is complicated by a multitude of relationships with different processes, and natural sources are connected to anthropogenic sources. For example, because of the increase in air temperature, the layer of permafrost in the Arctic is beginning to melt. This leads to the fact that even more methane is in the atmosphere. Another example is aerosols coming from natural and anthropogenic sources that enter the upper atmosphere and, on the contrary, cool the earth.
The article by Dr. Montsky and his colleagues on an alternative solution to the problem of global warming, published in the last issue of the journal Nature.