Oh Well!! In Past 18 Months, Satellites Detected 1,200+ Huge Methane Leaks; 15 Have Been Fixed

More than 1200 huge leaks of methane have been reported to the companies and countries responsible in the last 18 months, but just 15 responded and fixed the leaks, the UN environment programme (Unep) told Cop29 on Friday.

However, the recent plugging of a decade-long gas leak in Algeria just weeks after the UN’s notification shows the “eye in the sky” satellite system can work. Even the few leaks that were fixed after the UN alerts amount to emissions of taking a million cars off the road.

Methane, the scientific name for fossil gas, is a potent greenhouse gas, 82 times more powerful at trapping heat than CO2 over 20 years. It is responsible for one third of global heating to date and the climate crisis cannot be ended without slashing methane emissions. The good news is that the fixes for leaky fossil fuel sites are often fast and very simple - “a guy with a wrench”, as one expert put it.

Turkmenistan had the most methane plumes spotted by Unep’s Methane Alert and Response System with 388. The Guardian reported Turkmenistan’s “mind-boggling” leaks in May 2023 and was told this had prompted government attention to the problem. A multi-million-dollar, UN-led joint programme to cut emissions in Turkmenistan has recently been endorsed by the government and is awaiting final approval to start work. The UN says there is the potential to cut 4m tonnes of methane leaks a year in Turkmenistan, equivalent to more than the entire annual CO2 emissions of the UK.

The US has the second most methane leaks, with 178. The US is a co-leader of the Global Methane Pledge, a group of 150 nations pledged to cut global methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Iran had the third highest notified leaks with 111.

“To have any chance of getting global warming under control, methane emissions must come down, and come down fast,” said Inger Andersen, Unep executive director. “There are often simple repairs. We are quite literally talking about screwing bolts tighter in some cases.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2024/nov/15/cop29-live-day-five-begins-with-demands-for-change-to-way-summits-are-run