The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on February 23rd that actual emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the global energy industry are 70% higher than official data, with the coal industry being the largest single source.
Coal industry's methane emissions problem is more severe than oil and gas
The International Energy Agency's 2022 Global Methane Tracker report states that the world needs to strengthen monitoring and policy actions to reduce emissions of polluting gases.
This is the first time the coal industry has been recorded as having a significant methane emissions problem, surpassing other fossil fuel industries at 42 million metric tons, followed by oil and natural gas at 41 million and 39 million metric tons, respectively.
The report provides the first estimate of each country's overall emissions and shows signs of progress in controlling methane emissions.
“Methane emissions from the energy sector grew by less than 5% last year,” the IEA said. “They did not return to 2019 levels and lagged slightly behind the growth in overall energy use, suggesting that some emissions reduction efforts may be having an effect.”
At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow, UK last year, more than 100 countries joined the Global Methane Pledge, led by the United States and the European Union, with the goal of reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
40% of anthropogenic methane emissions come from the energy sector, and methane leaks exacerbate environmental problems.
Methane is the second most powerful greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, with a higher warming potential than carbon dioxide, but it breaks down faster in the atmosphere, meaning that reducing methane emissions can have a faster effect on controlling global warming.
"If within 10 years we could reduce anthropogenic methane emissions to 70% of today's levels, the impact on temperature rise by mid-century would be like reducing all carbon emissions from cars, trucks, planes and ships to zero," said Tim Gould, the IEA's chief energy economist.
The IEA said the energy sector contributes about 40% of methane emissions from human activities, while agriculture is the largest source of methane emissions.
“Methane leakage increases the climate impact of coal burning. It can no longer be ignored,” said Anatoli Smirnov, head of the coal mine methane team at Ember, a London-based climate research organization. “Cost-effective technologies exist, but so far, coal companies have done very little to reduce methane leakage.”
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol lamented that if all the methane leaks from the fossil fuel industry last year had been captured and sold, the world would have access to an additional 180 billion cubic meters of natural gas. "With natural gas prices now so high, this could almost cover the cost of preventing methane leaks from all the oil and gas industries globally."
The IEA estimates that the methane lost is equivalent to all the natural gas used in Europe's power sector, enough to ease supply constraints and high prices.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/233533)
