10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health 2025

Stephan Nicoleau Investor and Chairman, Project Drawdown Drew Shindell Nicholas Professor of Earth Science, Duke University On a 20-year time scale, methane traps roughly 80 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.29 Curbing methane emissions is critical to slowing global warming in the near term; yet many methane sources, including landfills, agriculture and fossil fuel systems, remain uncontrolled.30,31 Methane capture and utilization technologies aim to intercept this potent greenhouse gas before it reaches the atmosphere and convert it into useful products or energy. New systems for detecting, collecting and repurposing methane would ease pressure on planetary boundaries related to climate change, air quality and biogeochemical flows. Methane capture technologies are advancing to detect and recover emissions from a broad range of sources, including wastewater treatment plants, manure lagoons, landfills, coal mines, and oil and gas infrastructure.32,33 Compact sensors and low- cost imaging tools now support leak detection at small or remote sites, enabling recovery where it was not previously cost-effective. Researchers are exploring direct air capture approaches that might be able to extract even trace amounts of methane from the atmosphere. Meanwhile, emerging catalytic technologies operate under milder conditions than traditional energy-intensive processes, enabling the conversion of captured methane into useful products.34,35 Captured methane is already widely used for energy in many regions, with landfill gas and manure from dairy farms routinely converted into electricity, heat or renewable natural gas.36,37 Pilot projects are also testing methane-to-chemical pathways to generate low-carbon industrial inputs. Examples include the transformation of biogas into green methanol, direct photocatalytic methane-to-methanol systems38 and capturing methane from large-scale dairy operations, landfills and abandoned coal mines – currently offered by companies like Frost Methane Labs.39 As additional methane capture and utilization technologies move from pilot to deployment, they could present environmental, public health and economic benefits. Environmentally, catalytic conversion systems may reduce reliance on flaring, helping to limit aerosols and chemical byproducts that contribute to novel entities. Intercepting methane before it escapes into the atmosphere reduces greenhouse gas emissions and surface ozone, easing pressure on planetary boundaries related to climate change and atmospheric aerosol loading. Reducing methane and associated emissions could lessen respiratory health risks in nearby communities. In the energy sector, however, there is concern that methane capture could be used as a stopgap solution – focusing on mitigation rather than accelerating the phaseout of fossil fuel use. Economically, the use of methane to generate power provides value and can increase energy security. Emerging agricultural practices such as altering livestock diets and management can increase profits, while converting methane into industrial inputs or the use of black soldier flies in the waste sector could create new markets and job opportunities across agriculture, waste management and industrial chemistry.40 Methane capture and utilization can serve as a practical tool for near-term climate action – delivering measurable, near-term benefits from otherwise hard-to-abate sectors and methane- intensive industries. Methane capture and utilization technologies aim to intercept this potent greenhouse gas before it reaches the atmosphere and convert it into useful products or energy. 10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health 17