The International Energy Agency has recently released its annual report, the Methane Global Tracker, which reveals that fossil fuel companies released 120 million metric tonnes of methane into the atmosphere last year. The report also indicates that there has been no significant effort by these companies to reduce their methane emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The report’s findings highlight the pressing need for companies to take immediate action to reduce their emissions of methane, which is one of the major contributors to global warming.
The Need for Effective Reductions
The report revealed that the energy sector is responsible for around 70 percent of global methane emissions. The use of natural gas, the extraction of coal, and the production of oil all release methane into the atmosphere. Despite this, the fossil fuel industry has failed to implement effective measures to reduce these emissions.
The report notes that the necessary technologies to reduce methane emissions already exist and are cheap and readily available. According to the report, a reduction of 75 percent of methane emissions from the energy sector can be achieved with these technologies. The investment required for implementing these technologies would cost less than 3 percent of the net income received by the oil and gas industry in 2022.
Implications of Neglecting Methane Emissions
The findings of the Methane Global Tracker report indicate that the failure to reduce methane emissions has severe consequences for the planet. Methane emissions contribute significantly to global warming, causing more frequent and severe climate disasters such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves. The report states that if emissions of methane are not reduced, the planet will continue to warm at an alarming rate.
The report’s authors emphasize that reducing methane emissions is essential to achieving the Paris Agreement’s goals and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The report suggests that the fossil fuel industry can play a significant role in reducing emissions by implementing existing technologies and developing new ones.