Methane

A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas with a significant global warming potential. Methane is produced through anaerobic (without oxygen) decomposition of waste in landfills, animal digestion, decomposition of animal wastes, production and distribution of natural gas and oil, coal production , and incomplete fossil fuel combustion. The atmospheric concentration of methane has been shown to be increasing at a rate of about 0.6 per cent per year and the concentration of about 1.7 parts per million by volume is more than twice its pre-industrial value. However, the rate of increase of methane in the atmosphere may be stabilising.