A (relatively) easy climate fix that could have a massive impact

Methane is a major heat trap, so pinpointing and fixing leaks would have an immediate cooling effect on the planet.

When it comes to climate change and greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide gets all the negative press. But methane — a combo of carbon and hydrogen — is almost as bad for the planet. On a molecular level, methane traps more heat than CO2. And, while it remains in the atmosphere for much less time (a decade, versus the 300 to 1,000 years that carbon dioxide can linger), it’s 80 percent more potent in terms of warming things up in the short term.

Methane is responsible for close to a quarter of all global warming since the Industrial Revolution. Although the gas is produced naturally — wetlands are the largest environmental contributor — human activity, such as agriculture, waste management and the production of fossil fuels, accounts for approximately 60 percent of all methane emissions.

On the upside, many experts, including the UN Environment Programme, argue that cutting methane could constitute a relatively easy climate win. It’s easier and cheaper than reducing carbon emissions and, because methane is so good at trapping heat, it has a more immediate cooling effect. “For every tonne of methane emitted on a 20-year time scale, it’s like the equivalent of 80 to 90 tonnes of carbon dioxide,” says Stéphane Germain, CEO of GHGSat, a global leader in satellite-based methane monitoring. “So if you can solve that one tonne of methane, you make a really big difference.

So what are the top sources of methane? And what’s the fastest way to cut emissions? Here, everything you need to know (but were afraid to ask) about this heat-trapping gas.

Methane math: Where are emissions coming from?

Methane’s a primary component in natural gas, and it’s a by-product of a number of things considered essential to modern civilization, from agriculture to the burners on your gas stove. Cattle produce a surprising amount of methane in their digestion process (a single cow releases more than 140 kilograms of methane each year). Storing manure also emits methane, as does rice production — rice paddies account for a whopping 12 percent of all such emissions. In 2022, landfills produced 17 percent of Canadian methane emissions. In 2023, the production and use of fossil fuels — where methane can seep from oil drilling sites or from pipelines — created almost 120 million tonnes of methane. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, U.S.$2 billion in wasted gas is emitted every year, enough to fuel 10 million homes in the U.S.

Cutting back: How can we reduce emissions?

Because methane is so potent, reducing levels will be critical in avoiding the most dire impacts of climate change. The good news, however, is that because most methane emissions are produced by human activity, we can sharply reduce atmospheric levels by modifying or changing those activities. Leaks in pipes and valves can be repaired, flares can be fitted with automatic systems to re-ignite if they go out. Organic waste can be diverted from landfills, and the sites can also be outfitted with gas capture systems that generate heat or power. The International Energy Agency estimates that, worldwide, the oil and gas industry can achieve a 75 percent reduction using technologies that are available today. And because methane is a valuable commodity — it can be used to create renewable natural gas — this can be done at no cost or even to generate more revenue.

Finding the invisible: How hard is it to track emissions?

Methane is colourless and odourless, which makes it extremely difficult to spot a leak in a pipeline or refinery.

In 2011, Germain’s Montreal firm became the first organization in the world to use satellite technology to detect such leaks. “Satellites can find that needle in a haystack,” says Germain. GHGSat’s fleet of microsatellites are kitted out with spectroscopes, which can pinpoint leaks with far greater accuracy than ground-based measurement tools, planes or drones. Spectroscopy is the principle that every substance, including gases like methane, has a unique spectral signature or fingerprint, and that signature is revealed through the specific frequencies that the substance absorbs or emits. The spectroscope looks for patterns of gas on the ground, determining amounts, concentrations and the direction from which the gas is being dispersed. From there, GHGSat can determine how big a leak is and its source.

Plugging the holes: What happens after a leak is detected?

Once a leak is spotted, GHGSat shares that data with the entities responsible for the leak, who can then manage or mitigate those emissions. As challenging as it is to find these leaks, however, it’s even harder to convince industry players to trap gas from landfills or to take action by repairing pipelines. Germain notes that only about 1 percent of the leaks his company detects each year is actioned for repair. “We’re working super hard to get more people to be aware and more people to act on it, but as you might imagine, it’s really complicated,” he says. “There’s lots of room for improvement.”

In 2023, the company detected 378 million tonnes of methane in 85 different countries. Six million tonnes were mitigated, the equivalent of removing 1.4 million gas-powered cars from the road for a year.

The geopolitics of gas: What’s being done at the global level?

Since the Global Methane Pledge was launched by the U.S. and European Union at COP26 in 2021, more than 150 countries, including Canada, have signed on. Participants have all agreed to cut global methane emissions at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. Ahead of COP29, which will be held this November in Baku, Azerbaijan, there will be a meeting to discuss progress on the pledge so far.

But the pledge is voluntary and non-binding, and some major countries, including China and India, have yet to sign on. In a way, this illustrates the delicate diplomacy that GHGSat must engage in whenever it brings a methane leak to an operator’s attention. In some regions, the data is welcome and quickly acted upon. In others, the data isn’t trusted or is believed to undermine a country’s ability to supply energy. Over time, Germain says, he’s learned how to respectfully and productively navigate these discussions — share information, demonstrate best practices, and, ultimately, show how painless mitigation can be. “There’s a lot of collaboration involved,” he says. “Sometimes a more scientific approach works, and other times a more purely economic approach works. But in partnership with operators, we’ll one way or another get the result we all want, which is reducing emissions.”

 
To hear more about efforts to track and curb methane emissions, listen to the latest episode of the MaRS podcast Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World.

 
Photo illustration by Stephen Gregory; Photos: GHGSat, Google Earth and Unsplash