UNEP calls Nord Stream methane leak ‘biggest-ever’; plume over Europe fading-
- October 2, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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UNEP calls Nord Stream methane leak ‘biggest-ever’; plume over Europe fading-
Subject :Environment
Context:
- The methane released due to ruptures in the underwater Nord Stream natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany on September 26, 2022, is the single-biggest such release of greenhouse gas, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- However, the methane plume over Europe is fading quickly.
- Three confirmed and one potential gas leak have been detected in the Nord Stream pipeline.
- The plume is spreading, the greenhouse gas has been detected in Finland, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom.
- The leaks were detected in both Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2 pipelines. The former was shut down indefinitely after the leak. Germany suspended the latter following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- The leak rate from one of the rupture points was estimated to be 22,920 kilograms per hour. This is the 285,763 kg of coal burning every hour.
- On September 26, the radius of the methane plume was 700 metres. It has now reduced to roughly 290 metres.
Nord Stream Gas pipeline–
- Nord Stream consists of two pipelines, which have two lines each-
- Nord Stream 1 was completed in 2011 and runs from Vyborg in Leningrad (Russia) to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany.
- Nord Stream 2 which runs from Ust-Luga in Leningrad to Lubmin was completed in September 2021 and has the capacity to handle 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year once it becomes operational.
- The twin pipelines together can transport a combined total of 110 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year to Europe for at least 50 years.
- The Nord Stream crosses the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of several countries including Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, and the territorial waters of Russia, Denmark, and Germany.
- In Germany, the pipeline connects to the OPAL (Baltic Sea Pipeline) and NEL (North European Pipeline) which further connects to the European grid.
Methane as a GHG–
- Methane is responsible for more than a quarter of the current global warming.
- The greenhouse gas is 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.
- Earlier this year, UNEP showed that oil and gas fields worldwide, from the United States to Turkmenistan, have been causing massive methane leaks.
- It added that the releases, most of which can be traced to equipment failures, can last for weeks.
Other Sources of Methane emission–
a. Biological Sources: wetlands, landfills that are not well vented, and submerged paddy fields.
b. Agriculture:
- Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for roughly 32% of human-caused methane emissions. Cows also belch out methane.
- Paddy rice cultivation – accounts for another 8% of human-linked emissions.
c. Emissions from Fuel and Industries
d. Recent Emissions from Permian Basin – A new study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has estimated over 9% of gas production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, US. is being leaked as emissions, in contrast to the 1.4% predicted by the US Environmental Protection Agency.