The Conversation Surging methane emissions put our ability to meet Paris agreement climate targets in jeopardy. But a timely new book presents the scientific, policy and technological challenges and solutions for achieving rapid climate gains by addressing this once overlooked powerful greenhouse gas. When author Charles C. Mann wrote The Wizard and the Prophet in 2019, he used the tale of two contrasting scientists to summarise the wildly different approaches to solving contemporary environmental crises. In one camp, the titular prophet is seeing the future and identifying the need for less, to ramp back consumption and live within our planetary means. In the other, the wizard places faith in ever-advancing technological fixes to ensure Earth and its peoples’ future are secure. In his highly readable book, Into the Clear Blue Sky , US author and professor of earth science Rob Jackson wears the two hats well, both wizard and prophet. This is a book about the many different approaches currently in play to clean up our atmosphere in an effort to solve our climate crisis. While pragmatically articulating the need to consume less and reduce our emissions (scientifically an almost universally held objective), he lends his voice to the many other wizards who are working on the path to restoring our atmosphere. The key difference Jackson presents is the target of interest – methane. Carbon dioxide (CO) is the most well-known greenhouse gas, for good reason. Emissions of CO from human activity, principally from fossil fuels, is the key driver of climate change. But this often means overshadowing the role of methane, which is a more powerful greenhouse gas that has historically received much less attention. Jackson’s book highlights that methane’s poor relation reputation is starting to change. Once considered a sleepy backwater of the climate science community, Jackson […]
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