International Energy Agency: Methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry remain at record levels

The global fossil fuel industry, mainly due to the leaks of this strong greenhouse gas, remained at record levels in 2023 “unspeakable”, as solutions exist and are accessible, according to the analysis given today by the IOC. Energy production, linked to oil, gas and coal, “provoked about 120 million tonnes of methane emissions in 2023, slightly increasing compared to 2022,” noted the International Energy Agency, which however predicted a very forthcoming reduction, taking into account changes in the sector and commitments made to COP28. “Other ten million tons” come from “bioenergy”, such as burning timber for cooking, the IOC adds to its analysis for 2024 “Global Methane Tracker” (World Methanium Scanner). Methane, second most powerful greenhouse gas after CO2, is the main component of natural gas, which leaks from our natural gas pipelines, coal mines and kitchens, but is also released from cows, rice fields or waste. About 580 million tonnes of methane are emitted annually, 60% of which is attributed to human activity (with agriculture first) and almost a third to natural wetlands. It has a much greater impact on global warming than CO2, but a shorter life span (about ten years), responsible for about 30% of climate change worldwide after the industrial revolution. Avoiding its emissions will have a strong impact in the short term on combating the greenhouse effect. Methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry remain close to the 2019 record levels and are far from their necessary 75% reduction by 2030 to achieve the goal of reducing the global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as defined by the Paris Climate Agreement. “There is no reason that these shows remain so high,” denounced Tim Gould, the IOC’s chief economist at a press conference. In 2023 “about 40% could have been avoided without net cost, as the value of methane collected” and placed on the market was greater than the costs to cover leaks,” the IOC clarified. The 75% reduction would cost “about $170 billion, that is less than 5% of the fossil fuel industry’s revenue in 2023,” he added. About two-thirds of the methane emitted by the fossil fuel industry “come from only ten countries”, Christophe McGlade (Christophe McGlade), an energy expert in the organization, stressed. China is “makran” the first in carbon-derived methane emissions, the US leads to emissions of this greenhouse gas associated with oil and gas, “following close by Russia”. Among the “disturbing trends”, McGlade invoked the major leaks “traced satellitely” which “increased more than 50% over 2022”, representing an additional 5 million tonnes. One of them, huge, in Kazakhstan, lasted about 200 days. Nevertheless, the IOC remains optimistic: “the important policies and arrangements announced in recent months, as well as the new commitments made at the UN Climate Conference on COP28 in Dubai, can cause their decline soon,” the international organisation, which has become an important factor in the energy transition, pointed out. In COP28, 52 oil and gas companies committed themselves to achieving “almost zero methane emissions” in their operations by 2030, under the watchers’ eye that are still disdained due to the lack of accurate plans. Over 150 countries, including recently Azerbaijan, hosting COP29, are also participating in the Global Methane Pledge initiative, which aims to reduce emissions of this gas between 2020 and 2030. “If all these promises are fully and in time, they will reduce emissions by about 50% by 2030,” according to Christophe McGlade. However, these new commitments have not yet been supported by detailed plans, according to the analyst. “In 2024 it could mark a turning point,” economist Tim Gould stressed, as “the policies are beginning to apply, there is greater transparency, there is more general awareness and we have better possibilities to identify the important leaks” to stop them. The IOC, whose estimates exceed 50% of those of the UN, also welcomes the fact that it can count on “an increasing number of cutting-edge satellites monitoring methane leaks, such as MethanesAT”, which was successfully launched in early March by a SpaceX rocket and is under New Zealand control.