UN finds methane abatement schemes already exist for oil and gas
A report released May 6 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) finds there are readily available ways to reduce methane emissions, with more than half of those solutions existing in the fossil fuels industry.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more potent than even CO2. The UN report notes that more than half of all global methane emissions come from human-related activities associated with fossil fuels, agriculture and waste.
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Fossil fuels, along with oil and gas extraction, account for 23% of total methane emissions, compared with 20% from landfills and other parts of the waste sector. The agricultural sector, including manure, accounts for a 32% of methane emissions globally.
Inger Andersen, the executive director of UNEP, said the international community will not be able to address its climate change mitigation strategies without tackling methane.
Fortunately, she said, there are readily available control measures now that can limit how much methane escapes into the atmosphere.
“Most of these technical solutions are in the fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal – and waste sectors, and can be deployed at low or negative cost,” she said.
Panelists at a virtual presentation outlining the report said most of that negative cost comes from utilising the methane for energy.
In North America, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has agreements to secure 47.5mn gallons of renewable natural gas (RNG). Cayuga RNG Holdings announced plans this week to use the waste from a dairy farm in upstate New York to produce RNG for regional natural gas customers, and a handful of similar projects are in place in Canada.
Andersen said measures like these must be implemented now while they remain cost-effective rather than waiting for a future scenario where methane emissions increase exponentially.
“Fast and ambitious methane mitigation is one of the best strategies available today to deliver immediate and long-lasting multiple benefits for climate, agriculture, human and ecosystem health,” she said.