The Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) based in UC Berkeley Law maintains Methane Resources, a platform that helps governments, businesses, NGOs, and other stakeholders seize a vital climate opportunity by addressing methane emissions. Methane is a short-lived but powerful greenhouse gas, 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over 20 years. This gas accounts for about 30% of current warming.
Because methane lives in the atmosphere for a short time, actions taken today can rapidly slow the heating of our planet. In conjunction with decarbonization, methane reduction presents a critical opportunity to keep Earth from crossing the 1.5-degree guardrail, after which catastrophic feedback loops become far more likely.
Methane represents wasted energy in various systems, that can easily be captured and reused as a profitable product. As a result, significant economic benefits can be achieved by refining systems that generate methane.
CLEE is leading global methane efforts to bring together the Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC), a climate initiative with 15 founding state-level jurisdictions across the world dedicated to methane action. Do check out the SMAC website, and please reach out to CLEE for further inquiries.
The Coalition is co-led by California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and Climate Group. SMAC is accepting founding member states till September 2024, and will always be free and open to new members.
The Methane Frameworks are guides that help city, state, and national governments to create jobs, improve community health, and reach their climate goals by cutting methane emissions. Browse the Frameworks by sector below.
32 TO 40 PERCENT OF HUMAN METHANE EMISSIONS
Methane from the agricultural sector derives mainly from livestock and rice cultivation. Agricultural methane solutions often make food production more efficient and profitable. Go to Ag Resources
20 TO 25 PERCENT OF HUMAN METHANE EMISSIONS
In the oil and gas sector, methane can be released by the extraction, transmission, and distribution of fuel. Methane that is retained or captured can be used to generate energy. Go to Oil & Gas Resources
10 TO 15 PERCENT OF HUMAN METHANE EMISSIONS
Coal sector methane is vented to reduce safety risks and is released from active and abandoned mines. With the appropriate infrastructure, this methane can be captured and sold as fuel. Go to Coal Resources
14 TO 20 PERCENT OF HUMAN METHANE EMISSIONS
Landfills and wastewater systems produce methane through the decomposition of discarded organics. Waste sector methane can be prevented through composting, captured for fuel, or eliminated using low-cost passive systems.
Go to Waste Resources
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