IEA: even though the oil and gas industry has made repeated promises to remedy leaking infrastructure, the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that methane emissions from the energy sector remained close to a record level in 2023. Methane emissions have been relatively stable since 2019, according to the IEA’s Global Methane Tracker. However, in 2023, there was a 50% increase in methane emissions from leaky fossil fuel infrastructure, as opposed to 2022. Nearly 200 nations decided to quickly and significantly reduce methane emissions at the United Nations Climate Summit in Dubai last year. This adds to the more than 150 nations’ earlier pledge to cut methane emissions globally by at least 30% from 2020 levels by the end of this decade.
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Through the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme, dozens of oil firms have voluntarily agreed to cut emissions. In contrast to the IEA’s most recent estimate, nations and businesses continue to notably underreport the amount of methane emissions from their oil and gas operations. Since 2024 may represent a “turning point” for methane action and transparency, the IEA is hopeful that new satellites will contribute to better monitoring and transparency surrounding methane leakage.