The energy and climate emergency that our country is facing is more connected than ever to the increase in methane emissions: the main component of natural gas. This is a particularly alarming figure given that methane has the power to global warming more than 80 times higher than carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after its release into the atmosphere. Every loss of methane into the air, voluntary or involuntary, causes the loss of an important resource, both from the point of view of the climate impact and the economic loss that we all suffer with the increase in price caused by the war in Ukraine. For this reason, it must reduce methane emissions.
EDF: “Quickly reduce methane emissions”
Fred Frupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) the international environmental association that has been engaged for years, even in our country, in a campaign to reduce methane emissions (CH4) from the energy industry has stated that reducing emissions offers the fastest way to slow down global warming.
EDF believes a rapid and large-scale effort to reduce them from operations oil and gas, agriculture and other sectors could slow the rate of global warming by up to 30%.
In addition, methane pollution from oil, gas and coal needs to be tackled if the Paris 1.5°C target is to be reached.
IEA: "New drilling not necessary if the burnt gas is recovered"
According l 'IEA, (the International Energy Agency) 70% of methane emissions in this sector can be reduced using existing technologies.
The position of the IEA on the issue is clear: if in 2021 the global methane leaks from the Oil & Gas activities had been captured and sold, the natural gas markets would have been supplied with another 180 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
For example the recent agreement between Italy and Algeria for the 9 billion cubic meters of gas per year it expects an increase in the development of upstream projects in the Algerian fields. However these new perforations, which do not exclude the risk of new emissions, would not be necessary if the gas flared in that country were recovered, about 10 billion cubic meters a year, according to the Capterio agency.
