Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area
China’s anthropogenic methane emissions are the largest of any country in the world. A recent study using atmospheric observations suggested that recent policies aimed at reducing emissions of methane due to coal production in China after 2010 had been largely ineffective. Here, based on a longer ob...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac24d1 |
| _version_ | 1827869954535325696 |
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| author | Jianxiong Sheng Rachel Tunnicliffe Anita L Ganesan Joannes D Maasakkers Lu Shen Ronald G Prinn Shaojie Song Yuzhong Zhang Tia Scarpelli A Anthony Bloom Matthew Rigby Alistair J Manning Robert J Parker Hartmut Boesch Xin Lan Bo Zhang Minghao Zhuang Xi Lu |
| author_facet | Jianxiong Sheng Rachel Tunnicliffe Anita L Ganesan Joannes D Maasakkers Lu Shen Ronald G Prinn Shaojie Song Yuzhong Zhang Tia Scarpelli A Anthony Bloom Matthew Rigby Alistair J Manning Robert J Parker Hartmut Boesch Xin Lan Bo Zhang Minghao Zhuang Xi Lu |
| author_sort | Jianxiong Sheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | China’s anthropogenic methane emissions are the largest of any country in the world. A recent study using atmospheric observations suggested that recent policies aimed at reducing emissions of methane due to coal production in China after 2010 had been largely ineffective. Here, based on a longer observational record and an updated modelling approach, we find a statistically significant positive linear trend (0.36 ± 0.04 ( $\pm1\sigma$ ) Tg CH _4 yr ^−2 ) in China’s methane emissions for 2010–2017. This trend was slowing down at a statistically significant rate of -0.1 ± 0.04 Tg CH _4 yr ^−3 . We find that this decrease in growth rate can in part be attributed to a decline in China’s coal production. However, coal mine methane emissions have not declined as rapidly as production, implying that there may be substantial fugitive emissions from abandoned coal mines that have previously been overlooked. We also find that emissions over rice-growing and aquaculture-farming regions show a positive trend (0.13 ± 0.05 Tg CH _4 yr ^−2 for 2010–2017) despite reports of shrinking rice paddy areas, implying potentially significant emissions from new aquaculture activities, which are thought to be primarily located on converted rice paddies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:51:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-76db83098dfb47a889bb921bb33e20ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:51:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-76db83098dfb47a889bb921bb33e20ea2023-08-09T15:07:42ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-01161010401810.1088/1748-9326/ac24d1Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated areaJianxiong Sheng0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8008-3883Rachel Tunnicliffe1Anita L Ganesan2Joannes D Maasakkers3Lu Shen4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2787-7016Ronald G Prinn5Shaojie Song6Yuzhong Zhang7Tia Scarpelli8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5544-8732A Anthony Bloom9Matthew Rigby10Alistair J Manning11Robert J Parker12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0801-0831Hartmut Boesch13Xin Lan14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6327-6950Bo Zhang15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5783-6138Minghao Zhuang16Xi Lu17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5063-3776Center for Global Change Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol , Bristol, United Kingdom; School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol, United KingdomSchool of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol , Bristol, United KingdomSRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research , Utrecht, The NetherlandsSchool of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaCenter for Global Change Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaSchool of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaKey Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University , Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study , Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, United States of AmericaSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol , Bristol, United KingdomHadley Centre , Met Office, Exeter, United KingdomNational Centre for Earth Observation, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom; Earth Observation Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester , Leicester, United KingdomNational Centre for Earth Observation, University of Leicester , Leicester, United Kingdom; Earth Observation Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester , Leicester, United KingdomGlobal Monitoring Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Boulder, CO, United States of America; Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, United States of AmericaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing) , Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University , Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Environment, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Tsinghua University , Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaChina’s anthropogenic methane emissions are the largest of any country in the world. A recent study using atmospheric observations suggested that recent policies aimed at reducing emissions of methane due to coal production in China after 2010 had been largely ineffective. Here, based on a longer observational record and an updated modelling approach, we find a statistically significant positive linear trend (0.36 ± 0.04 ( $\pm1\sigma$ ) Tg CH _4 yr ^−2 ) in China’s methane emissions for 2010–2017. This trend was slowing down at a statistically significant rate of -0.1 ± 0.04 Tg CH _4 yr ^−3 . We find that this decrease in growth rate can in part be attributed to a decline in China’s coal production. However, coal mine methane emissions have not declined as rapidly as production, implying that there may be substantial fugitive emissions from abandoned coal mines that have previously been overlooked. We also find that emissions over rice-growing and aquaculture-farming regions show a positive trend (0.13 ± 0.05 Tg CH _4 yr ^−2 for 2010–2017) despite reports of shrinking rice paddy areas, implying potentially significant emissions from new aquaculture activities, which are thought to be primarily located on converted rice paddies.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac24d1emissionscoal miningmethaneaquaculturerice cultivationchina |
| spellingShingle | Jianxiong Sheng Rachel Tunnicliffe Anita L Ganesan Joannes D Maasakkers Lu Shen Ronald G Prinn Shaojie Song Yuzhong Zhang Tia Scarpelli A Anthony Bloom Matthew Rigby Alistair J Manning Robert J Parker Hartmut Boesch Xin Lan Bo Zhang Minghao Zhuang Xi Lu Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area Environmental Research Letters emissions coal mining methane aquaculture rice cultivation china |
| title | Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area |
| title_full | Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area |
| title_fullStr | Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area |
| title_short | Sustained methane emissions from China after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice-cultivated area |
| title_sort | sustained methane emissions from china after 2012 despite declining coal production and rice cultivated area |
| topic | emissions coal mining methane aquaculture rice cultivation china |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac24d1 |
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