Methane

Hunting Methane Using Satellites, A Guide for Policymakers: Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Reducing methane emissions is one of the fastest ways to slow global warming, but tracking sources and enforcing reductions has long been a challenge—until now. Thanks to a new generation of space-based instruments, satellites can detect methane leaks in real time, offering unprecedented transparency and accountability. Our new report explains how policymakers can harness satellite data to improve climate policies, enforce emissions regulations, and accelerate methane reduction efforts. It provides a roadmap for integrating these technologies into decision-making, offering practical recommendations for governments, regulators, and industry leaders.

 

 

Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC): CLEE is aiding the functions of the SMAC. The Coalition, launched at COP28 by Governor Gavin Newsom, is designed to engage sub-national governments in commitments to a jurisdiction-appropriate level of emission reduction action through inventories, baselines, target-setting, policy implementation, and information-sharing. The goal is to achieve the highest level possible of commitment to ambitious methane emission reduction with sufficient flexibility to include all relevant governments and sectors. Participation in the efforts will then facilitate iterative policy and technology development to continually raise the bar on emission reduction.

 

EPA STAR Grant: CLEE is a joint recipient of the EPA STAR grant of $1 million for the project “Next-Generation Landfill Monitoring: A Multi-Scale Approach to Measuring Emissions for Evaluating and Financing Interventions“. We are working with the UC Berkeley School of Engineering, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, Carbon Mapper, UC Davis, and PSE Health Energy to build low-cost methane measurement strategies at landfills. Read more about the project here.

 

CLDP Methane Abatement Handbook (September 2023): Our Methane Research Fellow, Gil Damon, co-authored the Handbook with the US Department of Commerce. Gil also helped promote methane action in the oil & gas sector in Southeast Asian countries.

 

Executive Letter to FERC (September 2023) proposing inclusion of methane in their carbon management program.

 

Ahead of the Herd (September 2022): Policy Solutions to Accelerate Livestock Methane Emissions Reduction in California.

 

CLEE Methane Frameworks:

1. Oil & Gas Methane Framework
2. Agricultural Methane Framework
3. Landfill and Waste Methane Framework

Global Methane Pledge: The Pledge participants agree to take voluntary actions to contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. This is a global, not a national reduction target. The GMP now has 155 country participants, representing a little over 50% of global anthropogenic methane emissions.

UNEP’s Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC): Founded in 2012, and convened within UNEP, The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of more than 160 governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The CCAC works to reduce powerful but short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) – methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone – that drive both climate change and air pollution.

Global Methane Hub: The vision is to collaborate with governmental and non-governmental entities to scale up cost-effective solutions in methane mitigation and contribute to transformational change in the energy, agricultural, and waste management sectors.

Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC): CLEE is aiding the functions of the SMAC. The Coalition, launched at COP28 by Governor Gavin Newsom, is designed to engage subnational governments in commitments to a jurisdiction-appropriate level of methane emission reductions through inventories, baselines, target-setting, policy implementation, and information-sharing. 

Subnational Climate Action Leaders Exchange (SCALE): Aims to leverage multi-level governance to significantly accelerate progress on subnational climate action. SCALE is a platform for showcasing the efforts of leading cities, states and regions; facilitating peer-to-peer exchange and capacity building; promoting multi-level and cross-sector dialogue; and connecting national and subnational governments to relevant tools and resources that support the development of additional programs and technical assistance.

Lowering Organic Waste Methane Initiative (LOW-Methane): An initiative launched by SCALE at COP28, the ambition of LOW-Methane is to deliver at least 1 million metric tons of annual waste sector methane reductions well before 2030 working with 40 subnational jurisdictions and their national government counterparts, and to unlock over $10 billion in public and private investment. 

Under2 Coalition: The coalition represents 177 individual states, regions, provinces and subnational governments along with several other national and subnational entities, committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 – or earlier. Their methane project is a forum for state and regional governments to share effective ways to reduce methane emissions, beginning with a focus on the oil and gas sector.

Global Methane Initiative (GMI): A public-private partnership that covers the three major sectors (energy production, agriculture, and waste) and promotes methane capture and use.

Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP): CCAC initiative (with UNEP, the European Commission, and EDF), advances methane emissions reporting, including through the OGMP 2.0 Reporting Framework. The OGMP 2.0 Framework requires companies to report methane emissions from sources across the entire oil and gas value chain with a target to reduce emissions by 50–75% by 2030.

Global Wastewater Initiative (GWWI): A multi-stakeholder platform bringing together different United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, the private sector, development banks, and others to implement and scale-up efforts to tackle wastewater pollution worldwide.

 

Methane Measurement and Monitoring Initiatives

Carbon Mapper: A philanthropically funded not-for-profit organization, in the process of launching a satellite constellation to pinpoint methane emissions, in partnership with the State of California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planet, the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, High Tide Foundation, and RMI. Data freely available.

Copernicus: EU’S Earth observation program that provides information services with data drawn from satellite observation and in-situ (non-space) systems. Among the six information services, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, and the Copernicus Climate Change Service are closely relevant to methane monitoring. Free to access. 

Environmental Defense Fund’s MethaneSAT: In collaboration with the New Zealand Space Agency and Google, MethaneSAT was launched in March 2024. It aims to provide regular monitoring of global oil and gas operations. Data will be free to access for non-commercial users. 

The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO): A UNEP initiative with support from the European Commission and other governments that will integrate methane emission data from multiple sources into a coherent dataset. Additionally, the IMEO will play an important role in implementing the GMP by helping countries prioritize actions and by monitoring commitments. In November 2022, they launched the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) to enhance detection of methane super emitters, alert relevant stakeholders, and support and track methane-mitigation progress. 

GHGSat: A global emissions monitoring company, with a memorandum of intent with the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. GHGSat will be collaborating with IMEO by providing free data on methane emissions from their satellites. 

International Energy Forum’s Methane Initiative and Methane Measurement Methodology Project: They’re developing a methane emissions measurement methodology to standardize data collection. The Project aims to assist IEF Member States in development of credible methane reduction plans for the energy sector based on best available data for methane emissions. 

Oil and Climate Index Plus (OCI+): Researchers from RMI, Stanford University, the University of Calgary, and Koomey Analytics developed the OCI+ tool as a response to opaque, self-reporting of GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector. The OCI+ presents a full life-cycle assessment of GHG emissions for half of global oil and gas production. 

Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source (EMIT): NASA developed the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source (EMIT) mission to map key minerals in deserts and advance understanding of the effect of airborne dust on climate. Since being installed on the International Space Station in July 2022, EMIT has identified more than 50 methane super-emitters in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern U.S.

Policy Tools

• A Primer on Cutting Methane, Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD).
• Global Methane Assessment (Summary for Decision Makers), UN CCAC. The report calculated that reducing methane emissions by 45% by 2030 will avoid almost 0.3 °C of warming globally, and lays out opportunities and barriers in development of methane policies.
• Methane Roadmap Action Programme (M-RAP), UN Climate and Clean Air Coalition. M-RAP lays out action items for methane policy in a step-by-step manner, and offers avenues of funding and collaboration.
• Regulatory Roadmap, IEA. A ten-step roadmap for policy makers.
• Regulatory Toolkit, IEA. Elaborating the Regulatory Roadmap.
• Policymaker Framework for Addressing Methane Emissions, Global Methane Initiative (GMI).
• Metrics and Measurements of Methane Emissions, IGSD.
• Satellite Point source Emissions Completeness Tool (SPECT): RMI’s tool helps users understand and assess satellite “completeness” as it relates to identifying and tracking super-emitters of methane. It allows for comparisons of methane-detecting satellites and their capabilities. 
• Coal vs Natural Gas Emissions Calculator, RMI. The calculator guides user inputs to evaluate specific gas and coal resources and operations worldwide and determine their GHG emissions parity.
• Coal vs Natural Gas Comparison, RMI. The analysis shows that methane emissions from natural gas supply chains have been inaccurately calculated for decades — leaving out the climate risk resulting from equipment leaks and flaring. 

 

Databases and Data Tools

• Global Methane Tracker, International Energy Agency. Interactive database of country and regional estimates for methane emissions and abatement options.
• Methane Policy Database within the Global Methane Tracker, IEA. Lists energy policies across the globe. Search for methane. 
• Climate TRACE: An AI powered platform for realtime GHG emissions reporting.
• Carbon Mapper methane plume data from satellites.
• IMEO Methane Data, UNEP. IMEO draws on satellites, scientific research, governments and companies to deliver open, reliable and actionable data. 
• EMIT Open Data Portal, NASA. This portal shows high-confidence research grade methane plume complexes from point source emitters – updated as they are identified.
• Waste Methane Assessment Platform (WasteMAP): An online platform that aggregates and maps reported, modeled, and observed waste methane emissions data. It also features a decision support tool based on this data for policymakers, landfill operators, and other stakeholders, allowing them to establish baseline methane emissions and model alternative scenarios with improved waste management practices.
• Model Composting Policy Library; Composting for Community Map, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The database has existing model composting policies at the local, state, and federal levels, along with policymaking tools and resources within the topics. 
• Global Methane Emitters Tracker, Global Energy Monitor. The tracker provides estimates of fossil fuel emissions at oil and gas and coal extraction sites, natural gas transmission pipelines, proposed projects and reserves, and attribution of remotely-sensed methane plumes.
• Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Data Tool, US Environmental Protection Agency. A data exploration tool for viewing non-CO2 GHG projections and mitigation assessments as compiled in the EPA Non-CO2 Greenhouse Emission Projections & Mitigation Potential Reports (2019 & 2022).
• International Coal Mine Methane Projects Database, Global Methane Initiative. This Excel document contains information on over two hundred coal mine methane recovery and utilization projects operating, in development, or planned around the world in both Global Methane Initiative partner and non-partner countries.
• Climate Change Laws of the World, London School of Economics + Climate Policy Radar. The database covers national-level climate change legislation and policies globally.

 

Financing Methane Action 

• Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance 2023, Climate Policy Initiative. The report highlights under-investment and gap in financing in methane action in all emitting sectors, and further, opportunities for expansion.
• The World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Finance Corporation, and Asian Development Bank have funded methane-related projects.

 

Methane Guidance

• Methane Abatement, IEA.
• Driving Down Methane Leaks from the Oil and Gas Industry: A Regulatory Roadmap and Toolkit, IEA. Translations available. 
• Advancing Methane Regulation: Implications of New Monitoring Technologies (2023), UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment. The discussion paper provides insights into emerging satellite monitoring and related evolving regulations and data streams.
• The State of Methane Regulation: A Global Survey (2023), UCLA Emmett Institute.
• EPA’s Final Methane Rule (2023), Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program. The brief is quite comprehensive in laying out the regulation’s specifics and EPA’s regulatory authority.