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19
June 2023
By Aaron Clark
A cheap fix to global warming is finally gaining
support
Credit: CCO Public Domain
Global support for one of the cheapest and most
powerful climate actions is accelerating—and it couldn't come at a
more urgent time.
Countries are starting to get more serious about slashing
avoidable methane emissions from fossil fuel production, as the
rapidly warming planet forces leaders to double down on solutions that
can rein in scorching temperatures within decades.
Last month Bloomberg Green reported that U.S. officials are
discussing with their Turkmenistan counterparts ways to help the
central Asian nation cap some of the world's worst methane emissions
that spew from its aging oil and gas operations. Separately, European
Union rules could pave the way for cuts to the greenhouse gas seeping
out from the continent's coal mines
If all the gas that's leaked or vented by Turkmenistan's energy
sector was salvaged and burned instead and the EU rules take effect,
the combined measures would have roughly the same short-term climate
effect as wiping out roughly 290 million tons of CO2 each year,
according to calculations by Bloomberg and energy think tank Ember.
That's like canceling the emissions of Taiwan—the world's leading
chip-maker and its 21st worst polluter. In the U.S., the Environmental
Protection Agency also is expected to outline its plan in coming weeks
for implementing a new fee on methane emissions mandated by the
sweeping climate law enacted last year.
Although massive emissions reductions of the gas from the
energy sector are still needed from many more countries globally,
including from major emitters like China and Russia, the measures may
mark a shift toward concrete climate action.
"The potential U.S.-Turkmenistan deal and the new EU
legislation show demonstrable progress in reducing global methane
pollution, demonstrating that the 2021 Global Methane Pledge is more
than just a promise,'' said Alice C. Hill, a senior fellow at the
Council on Foreign Relations.
Halting methane that is intentionally released or accidentally
leaked from coal mines or natural gas and oil production is some of
the lowest hanging fruit in the fight against climate change because
minimizing those emissions is often as simple as upgrading
infrastructure and making it more efficient.
Those refurbishments can generate more product operators can
sell. The International Energy Agency estimates that around 40% of oil
and gas emissions could be implemented at no net cost. There is also
significant potential to curb methane releases from large, porous
underground coal mines, according to the agency. Although burning
methane, the primary component of natural gas, still produces carbon
dioxide, the warming impact is significantly less than if the
uncombusted gas escapes directly into the atmosphere.
In Europe, coal mines already control or capture much of the
methane spewing from their mines, but often fail to combust or process
it and ship it to markets, according to Ember methane analyst Sabina
Assan, who estimates the new EU rules could slash the bloc's coal mine
methane emissions nearly 40% by 2040. The regulations must still pass
through final negotiations with the bloc's member states and could
change.
"This is basically just asking mines to improve the systems
they already have in place,'' said Assan. "It's really something that
they should already be doing, and it won't necessarily cost much.''
Although some climate activist groups expressed disappointment
the EU rules aren't more ambitious, the rules focus on measuring and
mitigating emissions from both active and abandoned mines, which is an
important because so many shafts continue leaking methane long after
they stop production, according to Assan.
Although sparsely populated and rarely in the international
news, Turkmenistan is a crucial piece of the global climate puzzle
because it sits atop the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves
and spews more methane per unit of oil and gas output than any other
major oil- or gas-producing country. The majority of the world's 500
most intense global methane releases since 2019 that have been traced
back to the oil and gas sector were in Turkmenistan, according to
analysis of satellite data by Kayrros SAS.
President Serdar Berdymukhamedov approved a roadmap that
includes measures to study how the country could potentially join the
Global Methane Pledge, a U.S. and EU-led initiative committed to
slashing global emissions of the gas 30% by the end of the decade.
About 7% of Turkmenistan's gas is currently believed to be wasted
through deliberate venting or flaring and accidental leaks.
The U.S. could potentially provide financial assistance
possibly through the Export-Import Bank with oil service providers
like Halliburton Co. and SLB, formerly named Schlumberger, working to
track down leaks and replace equipment in Turkmenistan, people
familiar with the discussions said.
"It is very encouraging that Turkmenistan is stepping up
efforts to mitigate its methane emissions, and that international
partners are ready to support Turkmenistan in this journey," said
Manfredi Caltagirone, head of the International Methane Emissions
Observatory (IMEO), an initiative of the United Nations Environment
Program.
The U.S. government also is moving on several fronts to attack
methane emissions from the oilfield. A marquee plan the Environmental
Protection Agency is expected to finalize late this year would mandate
routine monitoring for leaks at even small wells, require company
blueprints for plugging them and curtail the use of flaring, when
natural gas at oil wells is burned off as less-potent carbon dioxide.
U.S. regulators say oil and gas operators stand to claim over
80% of the revenue from the sale of natural gas that would be newly
captured under the requirements. The expected methane emissions
reductions from the EPA's proposed mandates aren't linear and the
agency didn't give an annual breakdown.
However, averaging the estimated cuts over the 12-year
timeframe provided by the agency shows the rules would block roughly
2.7 million metric tons of methane from entering the atmosphere
annually. Because methane is a potent greenhouse gas, the short term
climate impact would be equivalent to eliminating 225 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide every year or canceling Pakistan's emissions.
The U.S. and EU made methane a top issue ahead of COP26 in
2021, ultimately rallying some 150 nations behind the global pledge.
Nearly two years after that pact was unveiled, focus has moved beyond
enrolling more countries in the initiative to taking action on the
ground.
The goal for 30% reduction in global methane emissions by 2030
isn't likely to be met, according to David Oxley, head of climate
economics at research group Capital Economics. However, Oxley wrote in
a recent note that efforts to tackle methane emissions "give us
confidence" that releases will start to decline this decade.
2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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