Is methane the largest driver of recent global warming?

No.

Methane only accounts for 20-30% of recent warming, while human-made CO2 remains the dominant driver of recent climate change.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas significantly more effective at trapping heat than CO2; however, there is approximately 220 times more CO2 than methane in our atmosphere. Methane is also significantly shorter-lived, with an atmospheric lifetime of around a decade in comparison to CO2 lasting for centuries.

Human activity contributes over two-thirds of methane emissions, mainly via agriculture and livestock, fossil fuel extraction, and landfills. Methane levels have risen 2.7 times above pre-industrial levels. 

Large amounts of methane are also trapped in permafrost. As permafrost thaws in rising temperatures, the released methane’s greenhouse effect creates a feedback loop that melts more permafrost and further accelerates warming.

While methane plays a role in global warming, CO2 remains the primary driver of current climate change.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

• International Energy Agency Methane and Climate Change
• NASA Methane
• Copernicus Greenhouse gas concentrations
• The Salata Institute at Harvard University Thawing permafrost: what does it mean? And what can be done?

This fact brief was originally published on Skeptical Science.