DoomsdaysCW<p>How secretive <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/methane" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>methane</span></a> leaks are driving <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a></p><p>19 Jul 2022</p><p>"There is an open secret in the oil and gas industry and it is feeding the climate crisis.</p><p>"Massive methane leaks, known as super-emitter events, have been taking place at oil and gas fields all over the world, from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UnitedStates" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>UnitedStates</span></a> to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Turkmenistan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Turkmenistan</span></a>. The releases, most of which can be traced to equipment failures, can last for weeks. One outside of a storage facility in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LosAngeles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LosAngeles</span></a> in 2015 hemorrhaged almost 100,000 tonnes of methane — a potent <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreenhouseGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GreenhouseGas</span></a> — into the atmosphere over the course of four months.</p><p>"In June, researchers at Spain’s Polytechnic University of Valencia, said they uncovered the latest known super-emitter event at an <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OilAndGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OilAndGas</span></a> platform in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GulfOfMexico" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GulfOfMexico</span></a> . The installation discharged 40,000 tonnes of methane during a 17-day spell in December 2021 — equivalent to 3 per cent of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Mexico" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mexico</span></a>’s annual oil and gas emissions. Researchers said the release may never have been known to the public if not for the fact that it was captured by a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EuropeanSpaceAgency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EuropeanSpaceAgency</span></a> satellite.</p><p>"While the discharge was caught, it remains challenging to trace emissions of methane, which is colourless, odourless and responsible for more than 25% of the global warming the Earth is experiencing today. Due to its structure, methane traps more <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>heat</span></a> in the atmosphere per molecule than carbon dioxide (CO2) making it 80 times more harmful than <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CO2" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CO2</span></a> during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.</p><p>"As countries develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the worst effects of climate change, experts say it's vital to have a better handle on how much methane is being released into the atmosphere, including from super-emitter events. Cutting human-caused methane by 45 per cent this decade would keep warming beneath a threshold outlined by the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ParisAgreement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ParisAgreement</span></a>.</p><p>"The big challenge is knowing exactly how much [methane] is being emitted, where it is being emitted and for how long it has been emitted."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-secretive-methane-leaks-are-driving-climate-change" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">unep.org/news-and-stories/stor</span><span class="invisible">y/how-secretive-methane-leaks-are-driving-climate-change</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExxonKnew" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ExxonKnew</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MethaneLeaks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MethaneLeaks</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OilAndGasIndustry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OilAndGasIndustry</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OilAndGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OilAndGas</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCatastrophe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCatastrophe</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExxonKnew" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ExxonKnew</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USGovernmentKnew" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USGovernmentKnew</span></a></p>