The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) serves as a local hub of innovation, staffed by many of the brilliant minds behind groundbreaking research into the climate crisis. One example of a professor doing such work is Sikina Jinnah, who teaches environmental studies at the university and is the Associate Director at the Center for Reimagining Leadership. Professor Jinnah was granted the opportunity to co-author a report with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) regarding methane removal to mitigate global warming. Her expertise in the field of environmental politics made her a prime candidate for authorship, alongside other members of the Committee on Atmospheric Methane Removal. Since research in methane removal is still in its infancy, Jinnah’s report marks the beginning of more profound insight into this realm of climate solutions.

UCSC Professor Sikina Jinnah, co-author of NASEM’s “A Research Agenda Toward Atmospheric Methane Removal.”

Professor Jinnah

Jinnah received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked in the academic sector for fifteen years, including over eight years at UCSC. Her research primarily focuses on transnational actors’ role in environmental politics and how environmental policy is shaped in international relations. The NASEM report lies at the perfect intersection of these passions. Jinnah and colleagues hope to spur fast and efficient action by providing a comprehensive framework for U.S. officials to begin researching and implementing methane removal technologies.

Why Methane Removal?

The main contributor to the climate crisis is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, otherwise known as the greenhouse effect. Although greenhouse gases can naturally occur, human’s excess production of compounds like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane poses an increasing risk to the Earth’s climate. The latter is of particular concern; it is the second most common greenhouse gas and is twenty-eight times more potent than carbon dioxide in storing heat in the atmosphere. Methane removal would ensure that copious amounts of this greenhouse gas would be converted to a less powerful version of itself or taken out of the atmosphere entirely.

Despite the promise of methane removal, the report emphasizes that it is not an efficient enough strategy to stand alone in the fight against climate change. To truly nip this problem in the bud, the corporations churning out greenhouse gases would need to reduce their emissions. However, to mitigate the current dangerous effects of methane in the atmosphere, the report urgently requests that research progress be made within one year.

The NASEM Report

The report takes a two-phased approach. The first phase is an urgent plea to begin foundational and systems research on methane removal technologies. The study has been narrowed down into five areas of inquiry, which seek to better understand how natural methane sinks work, the potential of man-made methane removers, the impact of these technologies on the broader population, the future implications of these technologies, and methane removal’s interactions with other climate solutions.

After three to five years of research, the report engages in phase two, which analyzes the feasibility of conducting methane removal from a technical, economic, and social standpoint. The report looked at five examples of methane removal technologies within their development stages, including methane reactors, surface treatments, ecosystem uptake enhancement, methane concentrators, and atmospheric oxidation enhancement. All of these are explored in further depth in the report, which you can access here.

An Exciting Future Awaits

Although methane removal serves as a temporary solution in the scheme of a more significant problem, people like Jinnah are working diligently to ensure the promise of tomorrow for future generations. An exciting era of research lies ahead, where these technologies will transition from their developmental stages into practical tools that enhance the health of our atmosphere. Reports like this will provide the groundwork for a greener, more sustainable future!

UCSC Professor Authors National Agenda for Methane Removal Technologies