Methane emissions from the hydrocarbon industry are much higher than countries report, the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday.
The Parisian agency specifies that its analyzes show that methane emissions are 70% higher than the official data provided by the governments of the planet. If all the leaks were plugged, the recovered methane would be enough to meet all of Europe’s energy needs, the IEA said.
The findings highlight “the urgent need for increased monitoring efforts and stronger policies to reduce emissions of this potent greenhouse gas”, she added.
Experts estimate that methane is responsible for almost a third of the rise in temperatures seen since the start of the industrial revolution. However, the gas persists in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than carbon dioxide.
A reduction in methane emissions is seen as a crucial and rapid method of limiting global warming over the coming decades.
Increase in emissions
The IEA says its annual “Global Methane Tracker 2022” report shows emissions from the energy sector jumped almost 5% last year. She adds that the volume of methane released into the atmosphere corresponded to approximately 180 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
“This is the equivalent of all the gas used by the energy sector in Europe and would be more than enough to alleviate the current market crunch,” the report adds.
The agency’s top boss, Fatih Birol, has called for greater transparency regarding the scale and location of methane emissions.
New satellites are helping experts pinpoint the source of major emissions, but areas along the equator, far north and offshore are still poorly covered.
The main methane emitters are China, Russia, the United States, Iran and India, the IEA said.