World energy methane emissions near record high in 2024: IEA

Record fossil fuel production kept planetheating methane emissions near historic highs last year the International Energy Agency said Wednesday warning of a surge in massive leaks from oil and gas facilitiesSlashing emissions of methane second only to carbon dioxide for its contribution to global warming is essential to meeting international targets on climate change and one of the fastest ways to curb temperature riseBut the IEA warned that countries are considerably underestimating their energy sector methane pollution estimating that emissions are around 80 percent higher than the total reported by governments to the United NationsThe energy sector is responsible for around a third of the methane emitted by human activitiesIt leaks from gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure and is also deliberately released during equipment maintenanceTackling this is considered one of the easiest ways to lower emissions because plugging leaks can often be done at little or no costHowever the latest data indicates that implementation on methane has continued to fall short of ambitions said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol Superemitters The IEAs Global Methane Tracker report said over 120 million tonnes was released from the fossil fuel sector in 2024 close to the record high in 2019China has the largest energy methane emissions globally mainly from its coal sectorThe United States follows in second driven by its oil and gas sector with Russia thirdThe IEA said its figures are based on measured data where possible compared to emissions reported by governments which can be outdated or estimated using information from the energy sectorGlobal methane emissions are becoming easier to monitor from space with more than 25 satellites tracking gas plumes from fossil fuel facilities and other sourcesThe IEA said that Europes Sentinel 5 satellite which just sees the very largest leaks showed that superemitting methane events at oil and gas facilities rose to a record high in 2024These huge leaks were observed all over the world but particularly in the United States Turkmenistan and RussiaAbandoned oil and gas wells and coal mines are also significant sources of methane leaking into the atmosphere the IEA said in new analysis for this years reportWhen taken together they would be the worlds fourthlargest emitter of fossil fuel methane accounting for some eight million tonnes last year Tremendous impact Some 40 percent of methane emissions come from natural sources mainly wetlandsThe rest are from human activities particularly agriculture and the energy sectorBecause methane is potent but relatively shortlived it is a key target for countries wanting to slash emissions quicklyMore than 150 countries have promised a 30 percent reduction by 2030Oil and gas firms have meanwhile pledged to slash methane emissions by 2050The IEA estimated that cutting methane released by the fossil fuel sector would significantly slow global warming preventing a roughly 01 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures by 2050This would have a tremendous impact ndash comparable to eliminating all CO2 emissions from the worlds heavy industry in one stroke the report saidAround 70 percent of annual methane emissions from the energy sector could be avoided with existing technologiesBut only five percent of global oil and gas meets nearzero emissions standards the IEA saidEnergy think tank Ember said the fossil fuel industry needs to reduce methane emissions by 75 percent by 2030 if the world is to meet the target of reducing overall emissions to net zero by the middle of this centuryIn particular methane from coal was still being ignored said Ember analyst Sabina AssanThere are costeffective technologies available today so this is a lowhanging fruit of tackling methane We cant let coal mines off the hook any longerThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params