Of the 120 Mt of methane that escaped into the atmosphere, around 80 Mt came from the top 10 emitter countries
Photo: iStock Methane emissions from fuel use in 2023 were close to being the highest ever at 120 million tonnes (Mt), according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Methane Tracker 2024. This is a small rise compared to 2022.
Of the 120 Mt of methane that escaped into the atmosphere, around 80 Mt came from the top 10 emitter countries.
The United States, being the largest emitter of methane from oil and gas operations, topped the list, followed by Russia.
The IEA analysis highlighted worrying trends despite signs of progress. While studies suggested emissions are falling in some regions, overall emissions remain far too high to meet the world’s climate goals.
Satellite data showed that large methane emissions rose by more than 50 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022. More than 5 Mt was traced back to major fossil fuel leaks around the world. This included a major well blowout in Kazakhstan, which began on June 9, 2023 and continued for more than 200 days.
Methane is responsible for around 30 per cent of the rise in global temperatures since the preindustrial era. The energy sector — including oil, natural gas, coal and bioenergy — accounts for over a third of methane emissions from human activity.
Bioenergy — largely from biomass use — contributed a further 10 Mt emissions. This level has stayed constant since 2019, IEA noted.
The world needs to slash methane emissions from fossil fuels by 75 per cent by 2030 to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
The IEA estimated that this goal would require about $170 billion in spending. This is less than 5 per cent of the income generated by the fossil fuel industry in 2023.
Further, it is also possible to cut methane emissions cost-effectively to reach this target. Around 40 per cent of emissions from fossil fuels in 2023, according to IEA, could have been avoided at no net cost.
Also, methane emissions from fossil fuels could go down by around 50 per cent by 2030 if companies and countries implement all methane policies and pledges in time, the agency observed.
“Now, we must focus on transforming commitments into action, while continuing to aim higher. The IEA stands ready to help the energy sector meet its goals by deploying these measures, and we will continue to monitor progress — a key part of our wider efforts to ensure countries deliver on the energy promises they made at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28),” Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director, said in a statement.
The outcome of the first Global Stocktake (GST) released at COP28 called for countries to accelerate and substantially reduce non-carbon-dioxide emissions globally, including methane, by 2030. But it stopped short of providing a quantifiable target.
An informal draft text circulated in August 2023 called upon Parties to reduce methane emissions globally by at least 30 per cent by 2030 and 40 per cent by 2035. “But this is regrettable that this was not achieved at the two-week-long negotiations in Dubai. However, the fact that methane was mentioned in the adopted GST text provides a signal that countries are acknowledging that cutting methane emissions is important,” Neil Grant, climate and energy researcher at Climate Analytics, a global climate science and policy institute, previously told Down To Earth.
Additionally, more than 50 oil and gas companies launched the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter, representing more than 40 per cent of global oil production, to speed up emissions reductions within the industry at COP28.
A report from Climate Analytics noted that the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter only focuses on upstream emissions from oil and gas production, leaving out the need for phasing out fossil fuels, where emissions are at least five times greater. The initiative, the findings highlighted, omits key countries and shows strong overlaps with Nationally Determined Contributions.
A factsheet brought out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) also raised concerns. Six of the 10 oil and gas companies with the highest production in 2022 are signatories to the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), an industry-led initiative launched in 2014 to bring methane intensity to near zero by 2030.
However, voluntary pledges lack specificity and fail to address the full scope of the problem, according to CSE.
Several companies, the analysis highlighted, focus solely on methane intensity targets, which measure methane emissions as a percentage of natural gas produced.
The methane intensity targets do not consider absolute emission levels, which can increase even with declining methane intensity if production volumes rise. “This is a real fear given the fact that most companies continue to explore new wells,” it added.
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