Governments should set targets to reduce methane emissions
It would rapidly make a difference to climate change
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/2021/03/articles/main/20210403_ldp502.jpg)
THE ORACLE of Delphi’s trance-like state is thought to have been induced by gases seeping into her chamber through a crack in the ground. Some say methane was part of the cocktail. If true, the gas has shaped the course of civilisations at least three times: in ancient Greece when wars were waged and kingdoms fell on the strength of the Oracle’s prophecies, in the 20th century when methane-fuelled machines helped power industrialisation, and today, when the gas is a central but under-appreciated part of the fight against climate change.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Put a plug in it”
Leaders March 31st 2021
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