Fossil fuels firms failed to curb methane emission

Fossil fuels firms failed to curb methane emission

Subject : Environment

Section

Context: According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report, fossil fuel companies emitted 120 million metric tonnes of methane into the atmosphere in 2022, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019.

More on the News:

• The report said 75 per cent of methane emissions from the energy sector can be reduced with the help of cheap and readily available technology.
• The implementation of such measures would cost less than three per cent of the net income received by the oil and gas industry in 2022, but fossil fuel companies failed to take any substantial action regarding the issue.
• The energy sector accounts for around 40 per cent of the total average methane emissions from human activity, as oil and natural gas companies are known to release methane into the atmosphere when natural gas is flared or vented. The greenhouse gas is also released through leaks from valves and other equipment during the drilling, extraction and transportation process.
• It further mentioned that 80 per cent of the available options to curb the release of methane could be implemented by the fossil fuel industry at net zero cost.

Methane:

• Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4). Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. It is flammable, and is used as a fuel worldwide.
• According to the UN, 25 per cent of the warming that the world is experiencing today is because of methane, a greenhouse gas, which is also a component of natural gas.
• Methane is short-lived, compared with carbon dioxide.
• Methane, a greenhouse gas, is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming capacity.
• Approximately 40% of methane emitted is from natural sources and about 60% comes from human-influenced sources, including livestock farming, rice agriculture, biomass burning and so forth.
• It is responsible for creating ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant.
• Last year, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the atmospheric levels of methane jumped 17 parts per billion in 2021, beating the previous record set in 2020.
• Sources of Methane https://optimizeias.com/tracking-methane-emissions-for-mitigation/