methane leaks, a climate bomb

Methane is the common point between livestock farming, rice cultivation, the exploitation of fossil fuels and waste. All of these human activities emit gigantic amounts of methane into the atmosphere. This powerful greenhouse gas is responsible for almost a third of rising temperatures, and its emissions are only increasing.

Leaks invisible to the naked eye

Théophile Humann-Guilleminot works for a non-governmental organization and has a strange job: he is a methane hunter. It tracks leaks in gas networks, invisible to the naked eye. They are detectable with thermal cameras. That day, in Loire-Atlantique, he examined a gas pipeline between the LNG terminal and the national network and observed a leak. “keep on going” And “significant”. There is nothing illegal or dangerous, but for his association, these leaks should be prohibited. GRT Gaz, owner of the site, indicates that “methane emissions were divided by 3 between 2019 and 2022” and are expected to drop by 10% in 2023 compared to 2022. In Europe, gas networks are full of methane leaks.

Among our sources

The Kayrros company, specialist in the detection of mega-leaks by satellite

Clean Air Task Force

Jean-Daniel Paris, climatologist. He works at the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE). He has conducted several studies on methane emissions.

Thomas Lauvaux, researcher in Climate Sciences at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA). He is developing techniques to quantify methane leaks as precisely as possible.

Non-exhaustive list