Cows graze in a field in Luncavita, Romania, in this file photo. Denmark will impose cattle farmers with a tax on livestock carbon dioxide emissions starting in 2030, claiming it will be the first country to do so in a move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from each of its cows. Vadim Ghirda/AP hide caption
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts into space. On board is a satellite with a climate solutions mission. It's designed to detect methane, a potent planet warming gas. Courtesy SpaceX hide caption
A flare burns natural gas at an oil well on Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. Oil and natural gas companies would have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a new rule proposed by the Biden administration. Matthew Brown/AP hide caption
Climate change is driving more frequent and intense wildfires. Companies and researchers are using AI to both detect wildfires early, and to help prevent megafires. Jon Putman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett hide caption
A flare burns off methane and other hydrocarbons as oil pumpjacks operate in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas, Oct. 12, 2021. David Goldman/AP hide caption
A resident rides past the Guohua Power Station in northern China's Hebei province. China and the U.S. have pledged to accelerate their efforts to address climate change ahead of a major U.N. meeting on the issue. Ng Han Guan/AP hide caption
The natural gas production and supply system leaks the powerful greenhouse gas methane during drilling, fracking, processing and transport. Meredith Miotke for NPR hide caption
Earth's atmosphere photographed from the International Space Station. Greenhouse gases have accumulated rapidly and are trapping extra heat in the atmosphere. It will take decades for the gases to break down naturally or be reabsorbed on Earth's surface. Expedition 28 Crew/International Space Station/NASA hide caption
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, sits on his ceremonial chair as he presides over the inauguration of the Namgyal Monastery School in Dharamshala, India, on Nov. 2, 2017. Ashwini Bhatia/AP hide caption
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption
The Environmental Protection Agency has released a proposed rule that could roll back requirements on detecting and plugging methane leaks at oil and gas facilities. Charlie Riedel/AP hide caption
Some cottonwood trees are home to microorganisms that are known methane producers. Sean Bagshaw/Science Source/Getty Images hide caption
Peter Rabbit encourages people not to waste food as he casually chomps on a carrot on posters around town. Carolyn Beans for NPR hide caption
Researchers at the University of California, Davis are testing whether adding seaweed to cows' feed reduces methane emissions. Merrit Kennedy/NPR hide caption
A gas flare is seen at a natural gas processing facility near Williston, N.D. in 2015. A new study says the amount of methane leaking is more than government estimates. Matthew Brown/AP hide caption
Two rock samples taken by NASA's Curiosity rover were found to contain organic molecules. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS hide caption
Someday, we might be able to customize the microbes we feed cows to help reduce their methane emissions. Maskot/Getty Images/Maskot hide caption
Researchers have won a prize for discovering that a cow's genetics determine which microbes populate its gut. Some of those microbes produce the greenhouse gas methane that comes out of cow belches and farts and ends up in the atmosphere. Charlie Litchfield/AP hide caption
Pump jacks and a gas flare are seen near Williston, N.D., in 2016. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A crew works on a drilling rig at a well site for shale-based natural gas in Zelienople, Pa., in 2012. Keith Srakocic/AP hide caption
Oil pump jacks work behind a natural gas flare near Watford City, N.D., in 2014. The oil and gas industry is lobbying lawmakers to repeal a rule that aims to limit the emissions of methane, the chief component of natural gas. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
A natural gas drilling rig's lights shimmer in the evening light near Silt, Colo. Methane is the main component of natural gas, and studies show some methane escapes from leaky oil and gas operations. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption
Crews work on a relief well at the Aliso Canyon facility above the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles in early December. A leak has allowed tons of methane to escape into the surrounding neighborhood; stopping it is taking months because of pressure from the leak. Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News/AP hide caption
The Heartland Biogas facility in Weld County, Colo., is one of the country's largest waste treatment plants that converts methane to natural gas. Rebecca Jacobson/Inside Energy hide caption