A look at Siberia’s methane-emitting craters, amid pledge to cut global methane emissions at COP26

Crater C17 is one of 17 craters found in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region in northern Siberia. A leading theory to how the craters formed is that they emerged from melted permafrost due to global warming. Bubbles of methane and other gases pushed their way up, forming these major methane-emitting craters. The main greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, methane is released during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil as well as from livestock and other agricultural practices. ​​At the United Nations climate conference (COP26) on October 2, 2021, more than 100 countries joined the Global Methane Pledge, which set a target of a 30 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2030.