Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

5-2025

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported record-high global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (419.3 ppm) in 2023, alongside atmospheric methane levels (1922.6 ppb) now over 160% above pre-industrial levels. The World Meteorological Organization predicts 2024 could surpass 2023 as the warmest year on record, with more frequent and severe extreme weather events. Meeting the Paris Climate goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C—or ideally 1.5°C—above pre-industrial levels is becoming increasingly difficult. To address these challenges, efforts are expanding beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions. While carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies have been the focus, attention is now turning to atmospheric methane removal (AMR). While ARM technologies promise a number of benefits, few concerns have been raised about them. This article identifies and lists several new and important, ethical, social, and governance-related concerns about AMR, which have been overlooked in existing literature. As they reveal, greater scrutiny of AMR is urgently needed to ensure that future research and its implementation, if pursued, is both effective and ethically sound. The article is structured in five parts: first, a discussion of why AMR is being proposed alongside mitigation and CDR efforts, including its potential benefits; second, a review of the concerns about AMR that have appeared in literature to date; third, the presentation of several new, important, additional concerns that have been missed; and finally, a summary and concluding remarks

Keywords

Geoengineering, Methane removal, Carbon dioxide removal, Anthropogenic climate change, responses to climate change, mitigation

Discipline

Environmental Sciences | Philosophy

Research Areas

Integrative Research Areas

Publication

Frontiers in Environmental Science

Volume

13

First Page

1

Last Page

5

ISSN

2296-665X

Identifier

10.3389/fenvs.2025.1574595

Publisher

Frontiers Media

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1574595

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