Science & technology | The other greenhouse gas

Politics and technology are pushing oil firms to cut methane

When it comes to climate change, methane is low-hanging fruit

A natural gas flare burns near an oil pump jack at the New Harmony Oil Field in Grayville, Illinois, US.
Photograph: Getty Images
|Stavanger

Most discussions about climate change revolve around carbon dioxide. But that is not the only greenhouse gas. As delegates gather in Dubai for the COP28 summit, an annual UN-sponsored climate chinwag, much attention will be focused on methane instead.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “No place to hide”

From the December 2nd 2023 edition

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Dr Dorothy Bishop.

Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society

His continued membership has led to a high-profile resignation

Legal Amazon preservation area borders the field for soybean planting.

Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions

Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier


Robot mixing at Toyota Research Institute.

Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques

They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes


Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you

A mystery is finally being solved

Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever

Concerns about some of their business models are building

The two types of human laugh

One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else