Atmospheric methane removal as a third climate intervention: termination risks and air pollutant effects
Journal article, 2026
Atmospheric Methane Removal (AMR) is a third class of climate intervention, along with Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM). We 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. AMR's impact on tropospheric ozone can be further modulated by background pollutant levels.
Author
Katsumasa Tanaka
University Paris-Saclay
National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan
Weiwei Xiong
University Paris-Saclay
Didier A. Hauglustaine
University Paris-Saclay
Daniel Johansson
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Physical Resource Theory
Nico Bauer
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Philippe Bousquet
University Paris-Saclay
Philippe Ciais
University Paris-Saclay
Renaud de Richter
Tour Solaire
Marianne T. Lund
Cicero Senter for klimaforskning
Ragnhild B. Skeie
Cicero Senter for klimaforskning
Eric Zusman
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
NPJ CLIMATE ACTION
2731-9814 (eISSN)
Vol. 5 1 56Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
DOI
10.1038/s44168-026-00398-8