The UN has reported more than 1,200 methane leaks in the oil and gas sector, but only 15 cases have been responded to. Satellite data show that actual emissions are 10 times higher than previous estimates.

While the UN summit is trying to reach an agreement on financing climate projects, hydrocarbon producers are hiding their emissions.

Written by UNN with reference to Rai, France24 and MethaneSAT.

Companies and governments ignore almost all UN reports on methane leaks. This is the result of a new UN report. According to MethaneSAT (a satellite that will monitor methane sources around the Earth), emissions from oil and gas plants are much higher than estimated.

Losses from some large oil and gas fields are 10 times higher than previously thought

The United Nations Environment Program has notified governments and companies of more than 1,200 methane leaks in the oil and gas sector detected using satellite data. However, governments and oil and gas companies have taken action to fix the leaks in only 15 of these cases or have promised the UN that they will take action.

Context

At the COP28 in Dubai in 2023, more than 150 countries committed to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.

For reference

A few tens of kilometers south of Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, an invisible climate-changing gas is leaking into the atmosphere with impunity. In April and June, a sensor mounted on the International Space Station detected six separate plumes of methane (CH4) coming from oil and gas fields on the outskirts of the Azerbaijani capital, where world leaders, negotiators and lobbyists are meeting to agree on funding to fight global warming at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29).

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In Europe, Romania is the country with the largest oil reserves and the largest number of methane leaks, in part due to the deterioration of its infrastructure. Romania was the first country to start oil production in 1857.

If the new European rules come into force in May 2025, it is not yet clear how Romania, like all other oil-producing countries in the world, will be ready to take actions that are crucial for the climate, according to the article by france24.

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