COP29: Satellites find methane leaks, but ‘super emitters’ can’t fix them

The world now has more ways than ever to detect the invisible methane emissions that are responsible for a third of global warming. But methane “super emitters” do little when warned that they are leaking large quantities of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to a report released at the COP29 climate summit.

“We don’t have the transparency and sense of urgency we need,” he says. Manfredi CaltagironeThe director of the United Nations Environment Program’s International Methane Emissions Observatory recently launched a system that uses satellite data to warn about methane emissions.

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas to be addressed after carbon dioxide, and a growing number of countries have pledged to reduce methane emissions to avoid near-term warming. At last year’s COP28 climate summit, many of the world’s largest oil and gas companies pledged to “eliminate” methane emissions from their operations.

Today, more and more satellites are beginning to detect methane leaks from the biggest sources of emissions, such as oil and gas infrastructure, coal mines, landfills and agriculture. They say this data is critical to holding emitters accountable. Mark Brownstein From the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental advocacy group that recently launched its own methane detection satellite. “But data alone doesn’t solve the problem,” he says.

The first year of the UN Methane Alert System highlights the huge gap between data and action. Over the past year, the program has been 1225 warnings have been issued. The discovery of methane plumes from oil and gas infrastructure large enough to be detected from space has taken a toll on governments and businesses. Now, emitters have reported that they have only taken action to control these leaks 15 times, with a response rate of only about 1%.

There are several possible reasons for this, Caltagirone says. Emission sources may lack technical or financial resources, and some methane sources may be difficult to block. However, it is widely believed that emissions from oil and gas infrastructure are the easiest to address. “It’s plumbing. It’s not rocket science,” he says.

Another explanation is that emitters are still getting used to the new warning system. However, other methane monitors have reported a similar lack of response. “Our success rate is not very good,” he says. Jean-François Gautier From GHGSat, a Canadian company that has been issuing similar satellite alerts for several years. “It’s about 2-3%.”

There have been some successes. For example, the United Nations has issued several warnings to the Algerian government this year about a methane source that has been leaking continuously since at least 1999 and has a global warming effect equivalent to driving half a million cars for a year. By October, satellite data showed it had disappeared.

However, the overall picture shows that monitoring is not yet leading to emissions reductions. “Simply showing methane plumes is not enough to drive action,” he says. rob jackson from Stanford University in California. The key problem he sees is that satellites rarely reveal who owns leaky pipelines or methane-emitting wells, making it difficult to hold them accountable.

Methane is a major topic of discussion at the COP29 conference currently underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. no way summit On the “non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases” convened by the United States and China this week, each country announced several measures to combat methane emissions. This includes a fee on methane in the United States targeting oil and gas emitters. Many expect the incoming Trump administration to rescind the rule.