Methane Removal: A Critical Assessment and Research Agenda

Against the backdrop of growing climate risks, new technical and nature-based approaches to reducing greenhouse gases are increasingly coming into focus. Exceeding the 1.5°C threshold for global warming is now considered highly likely for this decade—making the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions even more critical. Methane (CH₄) plays a particularly important role in this context, as it is approximately 80 times more harmful to the climate than CO₂ over a 20-year period. To limit warming to below 2 °C, methane emissions would need to be reduced by about 40% by 2040 compared to 2019 levels—yet global emissions continue to rise. Against this backdrop, concepts for atmospheric methane removal (AMR)—analogous to CO₂ removal technologies (CDR)—are increasingly coming into focus. To date, however, no operational AMR technologies exist; the field is still in a very early stage of research.

The Methane Removal project aims to conduct a critical, interdisciplinary assessment of potential AMR technologies and systematically weigh their opportunities and challenges. Based on this, the most promising approaches will be identified, and a research agenda will be developed to structure early scientific work in this field. 

In addition to synthesizing the current state of research, the project aims to provide policymakers—particularly at the federal level—with early, evidence-based advice on AMR and to help shape the discourse in a scientifically sound manner.

Participating Centers

Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ (RIFS), GFZ Helmholtz Center for Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel, Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)

Principal Investigators

Kathleen Mar (RIFS/GFZ), Ralf Sussmann (KIT/IMK-IFU)