A report by the International Energy Agency confirmed that methane gas emissions associated with the fossil fuel sector in 2024 maintained numbers close to the standard levels recorded in 2019, and the report warned of the huge increase in emissions of this strong warm gas from oil and gas facilities.
According to the annual report of the Methane Observatory, the standard production of the fossil fuel sector – that is, gas, oil and coal – was responsible for the launch of more than 120 million tons of methane in the atmosphere in 2024, which approaches the record recorded in 2019.
Methan – which is invisible gas in the air and the smell and the second most important gas that causes climate warming after carbon dioxide – is from gas tubes and coal mines, as well as from the agricultural and livestock and waste sectors.
About 580 million tons of methane gas are launched annually, 60% of which belong to human activity caused by agriculture and then energy, and about a third of them comes from natural humid peat.
The energy sector is responsible for about a third of methane gas emissions from human activities due to leaks during extraction, production, burning operations, and transportation (gas pipelines, ships).
Unused oil and gas wells and coal mines are also other major sources of methane leakage, according to a new study conducted by the International Energy Agency.
These wells and mines are the fourth largest global emission of methane gas resulting from fossil fuels, as it contributed to the release of about 8 million tons in 2024.
Methane gas causes climate warming much more than carbon dioxide, and is responsible for about 30% of the global warming phenomenon since the industrial revolution according to specialized research.
It is estimated that China is the largest country for energy -related methane emissions in the world, specifically from the coal sector, followed by the United States and then Russia.
According to the International Energy Agency, the current obligations by companies and countries to reduce methane gas emissions cover 80% of global oil and gas production, but practically “only 5% of this production is obligated to verify the criterion of methane emissions near zero,” according to the agency.
The rapid and sustainable reduction of methane emissions is a primary factor for global warming in the short term and improving air quality.
This requires – according to the United Nations – 45% reducing global emissions from 2010 levels by 2030 to reach a net zero in 2050.
