Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry Are Triple Current Estimates
By Nathaniel Scharping, Eos/AGU.
Excerpt: The U.S. oil and gas industry is responsible for emitting 3 times more methane than current government estimates, according to a new study. Those emissions cost $9.3 billion annually because of their effects on global warming and air quality, the authors estimated. The study, published in Nature, used aerial surveys to track methane emissions from oil and gas fields, pipelines, processing facilities, and more in six fossil fuel–producing regions of the United States. It adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that methane emissions are far higher than previously thought.. See article at https://eos.org/articles/methane-emissions-from-the-oil-and-gas-industry-are-triple-current-estimates. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, often calculated to be 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (though some studies say it could be even more powerful), and is responsible for around a third of human-caused global warming to date. Curtailing these emissions has been a focus of recent regulatory efforts, such as the Global Methane Pledge, signed by more than 150 countries that agreed to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030. The U.S. EPA also recently unveiled new rules, set to take effect in May, that aim to cut 58 million tons of methane emissions over the next 15 years....