Methane Pollution Has Cheap, Effective Solutions That Aren’t Being Used

And because methane is invisible and odorless, it can be difficult and expensive to monitor it and prevent it from going out. Consequently, researchers and environmental activists say that industry probably publishes much more than official government estimates show.

Methane also infiltrates coal mines – more methane, in fact, than that released during the production of natural gas, which, after all, is mainly methane. EMPER, a clean energy reflection group, has set up this Large interactive visual showing how it happens.

The short version is that methane is anchored in coal deposits and that minors dig to expose coal seams, gas escapes and continues to do so long after a coal mine has reached the end of its operational life. Since coal minors focus on the extraction of coal, they do not often follow the amount of methane they let out, and regulators do not pay much attention.

According to EMBER, methane emissions from coal mines could be 60% higher than official accounts. Abandoned coal mines are particularly harmful, emitting more than abandoned oil and gas wells. In addition, methane issued by coal mines around the world has the same warming effect on the climate as annual annual carbon dioxide emissions from India.

Alarmed by gaps in data, some non -profit organizations have taken on them to try to get a better image of methane emissions on a global scale using ground sensors, air monitors and Even satellites. In 2024, the environmental defense fund launched Methanesat, which transported instruments that can measure methane production from small discreet sources in a large area.

Ritesh GautamMethanesat’s main scientist, said the project had revealed major ignored methane issuers. Since the launch, Methanesat has discovered that in the United States, most of the methane emissions have not only come from a few large oil and gas drilling sites, but many small wells that emit less than 100 kilograms per hour.

“Marginal wells only produce 6 to 7% [oil and gas] In the United States, but they represent almost 50% of American emissions linked to oil and gas production, “said Gautam.” These facilities produce only less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day, but there are more than half a million of those who have just been dispersed in the United States. “”

There are ways to stop methane emissions, but we don’t use them

The good news is that many of the tools to contain methane in the energy industry are already available. “About 70% of methane emissions in the fossil fuels sector could be avoided with existing technologies, often at low cost,” according to the Methane IEA report.

For the oil and gas industry, it could mean something as simple as using better connections in pipelines to limit leaks and install methane capture systems. And since methane is a fuel, the sale of saved methane can compensate for the cost of upgrading equipment. Let him enter the atmosphere is a waste of money and a contributor to warming.