Methane Emissions in the Energy Sector Reach Near-Record Levels by 2024: Here's the Vegedown
- Helloo there!
Energy Sector Methane Emissions Approaching Record High in 2024, According to Energy Authority Report - Energy Sector Methane Emissions Approach Record Highs in the Year 2024, According to Energy Agency Report
Get ready to dive into the grimy underbelly of energy emissions, my friend. The energy sector, notoriously responsible for a third of methane emissions caused by human activities, is once again hitting record highs. These greenhouse gases seep out from gas pipelines and energy infrastructure, and often intentionally leak during facility maintenance. The all-time high was back in 2019—and by 2024, it seems we're right back on track.
You might think reducing emissions is a no-brainer as far as climate protection goes. After all, it usually involves just a smidge of cash to fix a leak, right? Well, according to Fatih Birol, the fearless director of the Energy Agency (yep, that's a thing), implementation of methane measures is still lagging behind targets. The Energy Agency relies on cold, hard measurements for their data, unlike the emissions reported by governments, which are often just guesswork.
In fact, the Energy Agency estimates that actual emissions are a whopping 80 percent higher than the total methane emissions reported by states to the United Nations. They've been crying wolf about this trend for years, but with recent advancements, global methane emissions can now be monitored from space.
For instance, the European satellite Sentinel 5 has shown that super-emitting methane events at oil and gas facilities reached an unprecedented high in 2024. These huge leaks took place all over the globe, with hotspots in the USA, Turkmenistan, and Russia. Not to mention, abandoned oil, gas, and coal mines are a significant source of methane emissions.
Reducing methane emissions is one of the most effective ways to rapidly combat climate change. The Energy Agency reckons that reducing methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector would significantly slow down global warming and prevent a temperature increase of around 0.1 degrees Celsius by 2050. That's like erasing all CO2 emissions from the entire global heavy industry in one fell swoop!
So, where do these emissions come from? About 40 percent originates from natural sources, such as wetlands. The rest? Human activities like livestock farming or energy consumption.
- Fun facts:
- The term "Paris" is not directly related to the methane emissions discussion, but it's associated with climate agreements, so it's cool to throw it in there.
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) is the official name of the Energy Agency mentioned earlier.
- The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 parties, with the goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
- Fatih Birol isn't just the director of the Energy Agency. He's also an environmental economist and energy policy expert, with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Economics from Bosphorous University in Istanbul, Turkey. Cool, huh?
- The energy sector, responsible for a third of human-induced methane emissions, witnessed near-record levels by 2024.
- Fatih Birol, the director of the International Energy Agency, expressed concerns about lagging methane measures.
- The International Energy Agency estimated actual methane emissions to be 80% higher than those reported by governments.
- In 2024, super-emitting methane events at oil and gas facilities reached an unprecedented high, according to satellite data.
- Reducing methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector could slow down global warming by about 0.1 degrees Celsius by 2050.
- The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, aims to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
