Methane emissions tracking system proves its worth, but action to plug leaks must accelerate

A high-tech system that identifies major methane leaks has delivered 1,200 notifications to governments and companies over the last two years, yet just one percent of notifications were responded to according to new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) data.

Despite commitments under the Global Methane Pledge to slash emissions by 30 percent by 2030, An Eye on Methane: Invisible but not Unseen highlights that methane plume alerts from the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), part of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO), represent an untapped opportunity for immediate climate action. 

Atmospheric methane is the second biggest driver of anthropogenic global warming after carbon dioxide (CO2) and is over 80 times more powerful than CO2 in the near term. Global methane emissions must be reduced by 40-45 percent by 2030 to achieve cost-effective pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C. Yet the latest science shows atmospheric concentrations of methane rising at record speed over the past 5 years.

“To have any chance of getting global warming under control, methane emissions must come down, and come down fast,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. “We now have a proven system to identify major leaks so they can be quickly stopped – often with simple repairs. We are quite literally talking about screwing bolts tighter in some cases.

“Governments and oil and gas companies must stop paying lip service to this challenge when answers are staring them in the face. Instead, they should recognize the significant opportunity this presents and start responding to alerts by plugging leaks that are spewing climate-warming methane into the atmosphere. The tools are ready, the targets are set – now it is time to act.”

Proving its worth

While methane responses must rapidly grow, there are examples of nations and companies responding – proving the value of data-driven solutions like MARS. In 2024, IMEO verified action to reduce emissions from major leaks in Azerbaijan and the United States.

In Algeria and Nigeria MARS notifications and engagement led to direct action from the governments and oil and gas companies to address large methane leaks. In the Algerian case, which saw methane leaks take place for years, the annual avoided emissions are equivalent to 500,000 cars being taken off the road. In Nigeria’s case, the six-month leak emitted methane equivalent to 400,000 cars being driven for a year and was able to be fixed in under two weeks by simply replacing faulty equipment.

Beyond addressing major emissions seen from space, the systems exist for industry to manage its methane footprint. UNEP’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0), is an initiative for oil and gas companies to measure and reduce their methane emissions. OGMP 2.0 added 20 members over the past year, growing to 140 members covering more than 40 percent of global production.

2024 is the first year that OGMP 2.0 began awarding its “Gold Standard reporting” to companies that report their emissions at the highest data quality levels. So far in 2024, 55 companies have achieved Gold Standard reporting. Moving all companies across the sector to OGMP 2.0 Gold Standard emissions reporting is necessary to effectively target mitigation with measurement-based data and track performance against pledges to reduce emissions, such as the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter announced at COP28.