Observed changes in China’s methane emissions linked to policy drivers.

Autor: Yuzhong Zhang, Shuangxi Fang, Jianmeng Chen, Yi Lin, Yuanyuan Chen, Ruosi Liang, Ke Jiang, Parker, Robert J., Boesch, Hartmut, Steinbacher, Martin, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Xiao Lu, Shaojie Song, Shushi Peng
Předmět:
Zdroj: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; 10/11/2022, Vol. 119 Issue 41, p1-7, 7p
Abstrakt: China is set to actively reduce its methane emissions in the coming decade. A comprehensive evaluation of the current situation can provide a reference point for tracking the country’s future progress. Here, using satellite and surface observations, we quantify China’s methane emissions during 2010–2017. Including newly available data from a surface network across China greatly improves our ability to constrain emissions at subnational and sectoral levels. Our results show that recent changes in China’s methane emissions are linked to energy, agricultural, and environmental policies. We find contrasting methane emission trends in different regions attributed to coal mining, reflecting region-dependent responses to China’s energy policy of closing small coal mines (decreases in Southwest) and consolidating large coal mines (increases in North). Coordinated production of coalbed methane and coal in southern Shanxi effectively decreases methane emissions, despite increased coal production there. We also detect unexpected increases from rice cultivation over East and Central China, which is contributed by enhanced rates of crop-residue application, a factor not accounted for in current inventories. Our work identifies policy drivers of recent changes in China’s methane emissions, providing input to formulating methane policy toward its climate goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index