Releases from coal, petroleum and gas exploitation are 70% higher than officially declared quantities by governments, reveals the International Energy Agency.
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It’s a climate bomb but there is no more excuse for not defusing it. Methane emissions from the energy sector are 70% higher than officially declared quantities by governments, reveals the “Global Methane Tracker 2022” Published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) , Wednesday, February 23rd. But almost all the releases of this very powerful greenhouse gas, from oil and gas activities, could be avoided at no net cost, given the current high price of natural gas, ensures the institution.
Methane, second greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, behind carbon dioxide, has a much higher warming potential than that of CO 2 . It is responsible for 30% of global warming since the pre-industrial era and its emissions have increased significantly in recent years.
The energy sector is responsible for 40% of anthropogenic methane emissions behind agriculture. These discharges come from the extraction, operation or transport of coal, oil and gas. They gave rise in 2021 (+ 5%), as a result of increased demand for fossil energies after the shock of the CVIV-19 pandemic, but not to find their 2019 peak. “Efforts take place To limit emissions but they are far too slow, “Judge Christophe McGlade, the main author of the report. Three countries share the winners of these energy-related programs: China, Russia and the United States.
“A staggering gas waste”
If all methane rejected in the atmosphere in 2021 could have been recovered and sold, the market would have benefited from 180 billion cubic meters of additional natural gas, calculated the IEA – natural gas is mainly consisting of methane. This is the equivalent of all the necessary gas in the electricity sector in Europe last year, and more than it takes to soothe the current energy crisis. “Beyond the effect on climate change, it’s a staggering gas waste, a year when the market is so constrained,” regrets Tim Gould, the Chief Economist of the IEA:
“This is more than $ 40 billion in value that evaporate in the air. It is more than what it would take to deploy all known methane emission reduction measures.”
The report, which is based in particular on more accurate satellite data, country by country, shows that there is a “enormous and systematic underreporting of emissions” in most national inventories, indicates TIM Gould. “It is alarming,” said Fatih Birol, the agency director, because “an essential part of efforts to reduce emissions is transparency”.
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