Franceinfo has mapped all methane leaks since the start of 2023 around the world and explains the origins of this gas with multiple sources, whose emissions are nevertheless the easiest to stem.
It is colorless and odorless, but it is one of the most harmful greenhouse gases for the planet. Known to the general public for being emitted in particular by the flatulence of cattle, methane (CH4) has a warming power over twenty years that is 84 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2). To date, it has contributed to around 30% of global warming since the pre-industrial era, according to the United Nations. And “around 60%” of global methane emissions come from human activities, again according to the UN. Among them, a large part comes from leaks during the extraction or transport of oil and gas.
On the occasion of COP28, which brings together world leaders in Dubai until December 12, franceinfo collected data from the Dutch space agency (Sron) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to map methane leaks recorded by satellite and aircraft since the start of 2023.
Our analyzes show that, since January 1, 3,029 leaks have been recorded in 49 different countries. The six countries with the highest number of leaks are the United States (840), Turkmenistan (358), India (307), China (246), Russia (197) and Pakistan (190). In the United States, it is mainly the state of Texas which produces the most significant leaks, since the shale hydrocarbon “revolution” that occurred in the 2000s. “When we started doing satellite analysis to detect leaks, we expected to see a few leaks per year, but we realized there were hundreds, if not thousands.”remembers Thomas Lauvaux, teacher-researcher at the University of Reims.
Gray areas in detection
Several satellites scan the Earth’s atmosphere daily in search of the slightest methane leak. Because to be able to legislate and stem leaks, “we must make the invisible visible to all”, smiles Daniel Zavala-Araiza, scientist at the NGO Environmental Defense Fund. Other means are used to supplement satellite data: flights over oil and gas infrastructure by plane, by drone, monitoring of small leaks via networks of sensors on the ground or in cars.
But, despite the development of these means of monitoring, gray areas persist in the use of satellites. Among them: night, oceans, areas close to the poles. Indeed, remote sensing requires light to work. “The problem is that the closer the countries are to the poles, the less sun there is at a certain time of the year. There are areas where it is still very difficult to detect leaks”explains Thomas Lauvaux. This is the case for Canada or northern Russia, for which no detection is carried out even though they are home to numerous energy infrastructures and leaks are documented by researchers.
Same problem for the oceans, where leaks are undetectable by satellite. However, around 30% of global oil and gas production is extracted from offshore areas, according to the International Energy Agency. “Unfortunately, little is known about their broadcasts and what they represent on a global level, other than that it is the oldest platforms that produce the most leaks”says Manfredi Caltagirone, head of the International Observatory of Methane Emissions of the United Nations Environment Program (Pnue). But that should change: in June 2022, scientists have detected a significant methane leak by satellite for the first time from a facility in the Gulf of Mexico.
A negligent oil and gas industry
Human activities responsible for methane pollution are numerous: in 2022, 36% were linked to agriculture (livestock and rice cultivation), 33.7% to energy, 17.9% to waste and 2.5% to biomass burning, according to the International Energy Agency. With regard to oil and gas companies, to which franceinfo pays particular attention, “the majority of these emissions are not the result of accidents, but of simple negligence“explains Alexandre d’Aspremont, co-founder of the company Kayrros, specializing in geospatial and climatic data.
For example, in the context of maintenance operations on an oil infrastructure, “instead of doing things properly, they simply open the valves on either side of the pipeline they want to empty and let the methane escape to avoid any risk of explosion during the work.”illustrates Thomas Lauvaux.
Another common type of leak is related to the lack of flaring, which involves burning excess natural gas. When oil is extracted, it often rises to the surface along with water and gas, which are then separated from the black gold. “In the oil industry, we have a lot of leaks because the gas, mainly made up of methane, is a by-product which does not interest them”, explains Thomas Lauvaux. Unless it is processed or exported, this gas is normally burned. Gold, “When the flares no longer work, it takes weeks for them to be repaired because they are often located in the middle of the desert or in the mountains”, adds the researcher. The other leaks are caused by defective equipment, such as pressure valves which no longer work and continuously release methane.
However, these leaks are the easiest to plug, according to Manfredi Caltagirone of UNEP. “There is much greater capacity to reduce emissions in the energy sector than in agriculture and waste: 40-45% of these reductions would actually have zero net cost”, he explains. In a report published in 2021, the UN states that a 45% reduction in methane emissions by 2030 would limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C, as provided for in the Paris agreement .
Late regulations
Faced with this neglect of the industry, what is the solution? “We need legislation to make things happen”, insists Flavia Sollazzo, of the Environmental Defense Fund. In 2021, at COP26 in Glasgow, 150 countries signed the Global Methane Pledge aiming to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 compared to 2020. Problem: neither China, nor Russia, nor India have ratified this agreement even though these countries alone represent more than 32.5% of global methane emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency the United States.
If the United States did not legislate until 2022, “Awareness was even later in Europe, because it produces almost no oil on its territory”, explains Jean-Daniel Paris, researcher at the Climate and Environmental Sciences Laboratory. Only very recently, on November 15, the European Parliament and Council confirmed a provisional agreement on new rules to reduce methane emissions. This gas “was a blind spot in our climate strategy. It is no longer a blind spot”said French MEP Pascal Canfin, a member of Parliament’s negotiating team.
But this regulation does not seem to convince environmental associations, who point out the fact that it did not concern the agricultural sector, although it is the source of 53% of the EU’s methane emissions. And it will only be from January 1, 2027 that exporters to Europe will be required to apply the same measures as European companies. “The global commitment on methane will only have teeth if it includes binding measures”, judge Flavia Sollazzo. What if the best leverage was on the side of those who finance this oil and gas industry? “Consumer countries must make the companies and governments whose products they buy responsible. The message must be clear: if you want to have access to our markets, you must act on methane”concludes Manfredi Caltagirone.