Methane clathrates are going to melt and doom us

Myth:

Methane clathrates have already been irreversibly destabilised by the current level of global warming, meaning that catastrophic temperature increases can’t be stopped. There is therefore no point in cutting CO₂ emissions.

Fact:

Methane clathrates – also known as methane hydrates – are ice-like substances that trap methane gas in a cage of water molecules. They form below the seabed and in permafrost. If just a fraction of one percent of the methane trapped in these clathrates were released into the atmosphere, it would indeed add significantly to global warming. However, there is no evidence that this is about to happen, so we are not facing such a doomsday scenario. The planet’s methane clathrates are still locked away safely beneath the oceans and in the Arctic permafrost. 

Methane clathrate. [Source: Wikimedia Commons]

Sources:

Chad Briggs, “Climate Change, Arctic Security, and Methane Risks,” The Arctic Institute, 5/9/16. https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/climate-change-arctic-security-methane-risks/

Fahad Zareef, “Is global warming causing methane hydrates to escape?” Thrive, 18/8/22. https://thrivabilitymatters.org/is-global-warming-causing-methane-hydrates-to-escape/

Livio Ruffine et al, “Environmental challenges related to methane hydrate decomposition from climate change scenario and anthropic activities,” Earth-Science Reviews, November 2023. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825223002672