A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), published on March 31, shows that global methane emissions from the oil and gas sector increased by nearly four percent from 2018 to 2019. That trend could continue in 2020 and beyond, due, in part, to the economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the downturn is widely expected to lead to a decline in carbon dioxide emissions, it could have the opposite effect on emissions of methane, with the IEA noting that lower oil and gas prices “could mean that producers pay less attention to efforts to tackle methane.” For example, oil producers will have less incentive to capture and sell associated natural gas, which is primarily methane, and may simply vent it to the atmosphere. Similarly, natural gas producers may put off fixing leaks because the cost of doing so now exceeds the value of the captured gas.
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Source: Phys.org