<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/04/satellite-to-name-and-shame-worst-oil-and-gas-methane-polluters>
"A washing-machine-sized satellite is to “name and shame” the worst methane
polluters in the oil and gas industry.
MethaneSat is scheduled to launch from California onboard a SpaceX rocket on
Monday at 2pm local time (22:00 GMT). It will provide the first
near-comprehensive global view of leaks of the potent greenhouse gas from the
oil and gas sector, and all of the data will be made public. It will provide
high-resolution data over wider areas than existing satellites.
Methane, also called natural gas, is responsible for 30% of the global heating
driving the climate crisis. Leaks from the fossil fuel industry are a major
source of human-caused emissions and stemming these is the fastest single way
to curb temperature rises.
MethaneSat was developed by the Environmental Defense Fund, a US NGO, in
partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency and cost $88m to build and
launch. Earlier EDF measurements from planes show methane emissions were 60%
higher than calculated estimates published by US authorities and elsewhere.
More than 150 countries have signed a global methane pledge to cut their
emissions of the gas by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. Some oil and gas
companies have made similar pledges, and new regulations to limit methane leaks
are being worked on in the US, EU, Japan and South Korea.
The EDF’s senior vice-president, Mark Brownstein, said: “MethaneSat is a tool
for accountability . I’m sure many people think this could be used to name and
shame companies who are poor emissions performers, and that’s true. But [it]
can [also] help document progress that leading companies are making in reducing
their emissions.”
The oil and gas industry knows how to stop leaks and the cost of doing so is
usually very modest, said Steven Hamburg, the EDF’s chief scientist and
MethaneSat project leader: “Some call it low hanging fruit. I like to call it
fruit lying on the ground.”"
Via
Fix the News:
<
https://fixthenews.com/goodnews-meals-brazil-rewild-denmark-mangroves-pakistan/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
