Methane emissions from the vitality sector remained close to a document excessive in 2023 regardless of commitments from the sector to plug leaking infrastructure in a bid to fight local weather change, a report by the International Energy Agency mentioned on Wednesday.
Methane emissions from human actions akin to oil and pure fuel manufacturing, agriculture, and landfills are short-lived within the ambiance however many occasions stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse fuel. They have pushed a couple of third of the rise in international temperatures for the reason that industrial revolution.
Production and use of fossil fuels put greater than 120 million metric tons of methane into the ambiance final yr, a slight rise over 2022, the IEA report mentioned.
Large methane plumes from leaky fossil gasoline infrastructure additionally jumped by 50% in 2023 in contrast with 2022, the IEA report mentioned. One super-emitting occasion, detected by satellites, was a effectively blowout in Kazakhstan that lasted greater than 200 days.
“Emissions from fossil fuel operations remain unacceptably high,” mentioned IEA chief vitality economist Tim Gould.
Methane emissions have held round 130 million metric tons stage since 2019, the document excessive yr when the IEA began its Global Methane Tracker.
This is regardless of a dedication made by greater than 150 international locations since 2021 to scale back international methane emissions by no less than 30% from 2020 ranges by the top of this decade.
Dozens of oil firms have additionally voluntarily dedicated to scale back emissions.
But 2024 is more likely to mark a “turning point”, Gould mentioned, as new satellites assist to enhance monitoring and transparency round methane leaks, permitting firms to rapidly repair them.
SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY
Earlier this month, a brand new methane-detecting satellite tv for pc backed by Alphabet Inc’s Google and the Environmental Defense Fund went into orbit.
The European Space Agency and one other satellite-based tracker generally known as GHGSat already monitor methane emissions, however the brand new MethaneSAT will present higher element and have a wider area of view.
“2024 is going to be a watershed moment for action and transparency on methane,” mentioned Christophe McGlade, head of vitality provide for the IEA.
With methane being the principle element of pure fuel, oil and fuel firms have an incentive to seize emissions to promote as gasoline.
An common of about 3% of oil and fuel provides at key U.S. manufacturing websites could also be escaping as methane, 3 times increased than nationwide authorities estimates, a research printed on Wednesday within the journal Nature discovered.
The U.S. is the biggest nationwide emitter of methane from oil and fuel operations, the IEA mentioned.
Using 1 million aerial measurements gathered over a number of years, scientists estimated oil and fuel operations in six areas — which embody Texas, California and Colorado — could have launched 6.2 million tons yearly of methane emissions, the Nature research mentioned.
Such methane leaks, due to this fact, may very well be costing oil and fuel firms $1.08 billion in market losses, it mentioned.
Source: www.anews.com.tr