Methane, Suing Big Oil, Electricians and an Update
Satellite image of a huge methane leak
Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas, much more powerful than carbon dioxide. Much of the recent information about large-scale methane emissions is obtained by satellite imaging, giving us a better idea where large emssions are occurring.
There are natural sources of methane, but methane generated by human activities adds considerably to climate change. Most of the methane generated by human activity is from agriculture, but a significant amount of methane emissions comes from the energy sector, particularly from petroleum extraction, pipelines, and coal mines. From Reuters : “The energy sector accounts for about 40% of all methane emissions from human activity, second to agriculture.” Coal-related methane emissions in China are equivalent to total CO2 emissions from the whole of sub-Saharan Africa according to the International Energy Association.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that world methane production increased in 2022. Reuters and the International Energy Association (IEA) report that we can do better. From the IEA: “If all countries were to perform as well as Norway, global methane emissions from oil and gas operations would fall by more than 90%.
“The world’s five largest methane emitters (from all sources) are China, India, the United States, Russia and Brazil. Together, they are responsible for close to half of all methane emissions globally. Of these, only the United States and Brazil are part of the Global Methane Pledge.”
The recent report from the IEA gives further details:
“Methane emissions from oil and gas alone could be reduced by three-quarters with existing technologies and modest investment of less than 3% of the $4 trillion windfall income gained by oil and gas companies worldwide last year.
“‘The economic incentives to make those reductions were huge last year," IEA's Chief Energy Economist Tim Gould said. "We had record natural gas prices in many markets around the world. There was an extremely strong economic incentive to bring methane to market.’”
The IEA report said there were more than 500 super-emitting events from oil and gas operations detected by satellites in 2022. Another 100 were spotted at coal mines. Altogether, the coal industry was responsible for about 40 million tons of methane emissions in 2022.
From the Guardian:
“Methane leaks alone from Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields caused more global heating in 2022 than the entire carbon emissions of the UK, satellite data has revealed.
“Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil- and gas-rich country are ‘mind-boggling’, and an ‘infuriating’ problem that should be easy to fix, experts have told the Guardian.”
There is some hope. The United States has just announced plans to regulate methane leaks from pipelines in the United States. In addition, Turkmenistan’s huge super-emitting events are excellent targets for intervention as they are large and from easily identifiable, localized sources. The United States is in diplomatic contact with Turmenistan about working on controlling methane super-emissions. There is also hope in the international community that progress in talks with Turkmenistan can be made at the upcoming COP28 meeting as it will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates, which has close ties with Turkmenistan.
In another fossil fuel-related story, there is a ray of hope for holding oil companies responsible for their lies and the damage they have done. The United States Supreme Court decided, contrary to the wishes of oil companies, that lawsuits against them, similar to the successful suits against tobacco companies, belong in state courts, not federal courts. This ends a long period of delay by the oil companies and increases the chances of some consequences and resources for healing some of the damage they have done by putting profits ahead of all else (and what immensely huge profits they have made !).
This is from Dr. Katherine Hayhoe’s excellent Linkedin weekly newsletter (if you are on Linkedin it is worth following her) post of May 13, 2023:
“In the U.S., a Supreme Court decision just last month unleashed a wave of lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry that had been stuck in legal limbo for the last five years. Some California cities and counties are suing oil, gas, and coal companies after revelations that ExxonMobil had known since at least 1977 about the catastrophic effect of burning fossil fuels but worked to publicly cast doubton the science. And in Montana, where the governor has just signed a bill banning the state from considering climate impacts when analyzing large projects such as coal mines and power plants, sixteen young people with Our Children's Trust are taking the state government to court for its failure to address climate impacts.
Looking for more examples? This Columbia University database tracks climate change litigation in the U.S. and around the world.”
Another news story noted that if you know someone who doesn’t want to go to college, there are “green” jobs that don’t require a 4-year degree. For example, a shortage of electricians is predicted!
An update: great news! In our January 16, 2023 news posting we reported on the Interceptor on Ballona Creek in Los Angeles that is designed to prevent plastic from entering the ocean. It was hugely successful in preventing plastic trash from entering the ocean after the rains this winter, with 77 tons collected. It won’t help prevent microplastics from getting into the ocean, but is a big step forward. It takes much less energy to trap plastic before it gets to the ocean than trying to clean it up in the ocean!