Myth: Methane clathrates are going to melt and doom us

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 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.