Getting Started on Methane Cleanup

National Academies Press (2024)

This report is a welcome entry in an infant field. Here's hoping methods of methane removal can mature quickly and earn a welcome place among climate solutions—and among people who must live with them. It’s good to see the National Academies chewing into this vital challenge.

Here at Global Ocean Health, we helped Tribes launch the Indigenous Greenhouse Gas Removal Commission because the need for cleanup has become urgent. Tribes have a strong track record in mastering environmental management challenges and helping to make sure these fields “grow up right.”

It’s still true that the best and cheapest way to tackle pollution is to make less of it. Trouble is, modern industrial societies have failed to cut GHG emissions for so long that we now must learn how to clean up our mess in a hurry. And as usual the ocean —which feeds billions and provides half our world's oxygen—is taking the brunt.

Pulling methane from the air might be one of the quickest ways to start getting a grip. It’s a potent greenhouse gas, and humans produce most of it, so this one is on us. At GOH, we look forward to continuing to support Indigenous leaders in their work to carve out a strong role as co-managers and leaders in this new field.