Methane is produced by the breakdown or decay of organic material and can enter the atmosphere through natural processes such as the decay of plant material in wetlands, the seepage of gas from underground deposits, or the digestion of food by cattle, or through human activities such as oil and gas production, rice farming, or waste management.
Scientists have calculated huge methane emissions from fossil-fuel extraction activities and their impact on the climate for the first time on a worldwide scale, using satellite data. Their findings help to explain why official inventories of these pollutants tend to be understated. Stopping these emissions, whether unintentional or intentional, would save the guilty governments billions of dollars.
An multinational study led by CNRS and CEA academics, as well as the business Kayrros, identified hundreds of large methane leaks associated with global oil and gas extraction activities. The scientists demonstrated that restricting the amount of carbon released would both ameliorate climatic damage and save money – billions of dollars for the major fossil-fuel producing countries. Their findings were reported in the journal Science.
Over the first 20 years after it enters the atmosphere, methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. Despite having a longer lasting effect than CO2, methane sets the pace for warming in the short term.
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement
Methane (CH4), a major contributor to climate change, has a global warming potential that is approximately 30 times that of CO2 over a 100-year period. One-quarter of all anthropogenic emissions of this greenhouse gas come from the global extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas (of which methane is the main component). A 2018 analysis found that official US inventories significantly understated real emissions from oil and gas production and distribution activities. The observed disparity appears to be the result of undeclared sporadic leaks of substantial amounts of methane by industry operators.
Food production and human waste account for roughly half of all methane in the atmosphere on a national scale. These two businesses account for 80 percent of methane emissions in California, owing to the state’s enormous dairy and cow ranches. In fact, when all greenhouse gases produced in California are included, methane emissions from SCG and SDG&E’s natural gas distribution networks account for only 3.3 percent of those greenhouse gases.
An international research team lead by the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (CNRS / CEA / UVSQ), in collaboration with the firm Kayrros2, has completed a global tally of the fossil-fuel industry’s greatest methane emissions into the atmosphere. These may be unintentional or the consequence of purposeful venting during maintenance operations, which accounts for very significant discharges. Over a two-year period, the researchers painstakingly analyzed hundreds of daily photos collected by the ESA’s Sentinel-5P satellite. This enabled them to map 1,800 methane plumes around the world, 1,200 of which were linked to fossil-fuel extraction. They deem the impact of such releases on the climate comparable to that of 20 million vehicles on the road for one year.
These emissions represent 10% of the industry’s total estimated emissions. They are, however, simply the tip of the iceberg because the satellite can only identify the largest plumes (>25 tonnes per hour of CH4), which are also the most intermittent. 3 The researchers show that these enormous methane leaks do not occur at random, but rather over specific oil and gas extraction sites. The laws set by states and enterprises play a significant influence, as evidenced by observations of these emissions, the quantities of which are dependent on maintenance routines and attentiveness in the repair of leaks.
Over the first 20 years, after it enters the atmosphere, methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. Despite having a longer-lasting effect than CO2, methane sets the pace for warming in the short term. Methane from human activity is responsible for at least 25% of today’s warming. The oil and gas industry is a major generator of methane.
But, would controlling these emissions be so expensive for oil and gas companies that they would prefer to continue with their current practices? Taking into consideration the underlying societal costs of climate change and air quality, as well as the monetary worth of gas wasted, the analysis concludes that restricting these would result in billions of dollars in net savings for the countries involved. It underlines the importance of a dependable air monitoring system for tracking emissions and estimating the impact of local abatement actions.
