We all know that methane emissions are a significant driver of climate change, but pinpointing where exactly these emissions are coming from is a much more complex task. Fortunately, a new resource from GHGSat is putting methane emitters on the map. Quite literally.
The organization’s methane map was released on Wednesday and uses data from their two satellites to show the public where the world’s most concentrated methane emissions come from. The satellites are able to detect methane emitted by oil and gas wells, coal mines, power plants, farms, and factories and displays this data in a color-coded map.
Some areas, like the drilling-heavy Gulf Coast, are displayed as dark red, indicating high levels of methane emissions. Less severe areas range from yellow to green, while areas with minimal emissions show up purple or blue. The map covers the past six months and data is updated with new satellite images each week.
The largest benefit of the new map offers is accountability. It can help identify companies that aren’t meeting their methane reduction pledges. This is critical as methane is one of the most powerful drivers of global warming.
Jonathan Elkind, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy says this resource is groundbreaking because “We’ve got a situation where for more than the last decade there’s been a significant and unexplained upward tick in global methane atmospheric concentrations.”
In addition to man-made emissions, the map shows us where the world’s natural emissions occur as well. Mountainous areas like the Himalayas and the Sierra Nevada range in California are big methane trappers.
Moving forward, Montreal-based GHGSat plans to release additional data to quantify emissions more specifically. This new resource is a huge solution for holding countries accountable to their Paris Agreement commitments and companies accountable for their climate action plans. Soon, granular data will be able to pinpoint emissions from specific facilities, so it will be no secret which companies are releasing the most methane into our atmosphere.
Stephane Germain, president of GHGSat says, “A very small number of sites are responsible for the vast majority of man-made emissions globally. If you can find those industrial emissions, you can have a significant impact.”
Image source: Spacenews
