Tanaka et al. (2026): Atmospheric methane removal as a third climate intervention: termination risks and air pollutant effects
Katsumasa Tanaka, Weiwei Xiong, Didier A. Hauglustaine, Daniel J. A. Johansson, Nico Bauer, Philippe Bousquet, Philippe Ciais, Renaud de Richter, Marianne T. Lund, Ragnhild B. Skeie and Eric Zusman, IN: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-026-00398-8
Atmospheric Methane Removal (AMR) is a third class of climate intervention, along with Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM). The authors show that, unlike CDR, the avoided warming by AMR is not durable due to methane’s short atmospheric lifetime, although its temperature rebound upon termination is less abrupt than that of SRM.