The 2022 update of the IEA Global Methane Tracker for the first time includes emissions from the coal sector, creating a complete set of emission estimates for the energy sector and cementing the Tracker’s indispensable role in the fight to bring down methane emissions and implement the new Global Methane Pledge.

A rapid and sustained reduction of methane emissions is both achievable and essential to limit the rise in global average temperatures. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, today’s concentrations of methane in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in at least 800 000 years, and methane has contributed around 30% of observed global warming to date.

We estimate that the global energy sector was responsible for around 135 million tonnes of methane emitted into the atmosphere in 2021. Following the Covid-induced decline in 2020, this represents a year-on-year increase in energy-related methane emissions of almost 5%, largely due to higher fossil fuel demand and production as economies recovered from the shock of the pandemic.

The inclusion in the Global Methane Tracker of country-by-country estimates for coal activities, alongside those for oil and gas operations, makes the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”) the largest source of global energy-related methane emissions, with 28 million tonnes (Mt), followed by Russian Federation (hereafter “Russia”) (18 Mt) and the United States (17 Mt).

The energy sector is responsible for around 40% of total methane emissions attributable to human activity, second only to agriculture. Of the 135 million tonnes of energy-related emissions, an estimated 42 Mt are from coal mine methane, 41 Mt from oil, 39 Mt are from extracting, processing and transporting natural gas, 9 Mt from the incomplete combustion of bioenergy (largely when wood and other solid biomass is used as a traditional cooking fuel), and 4 Mt leaks from end-use equipment.

The wasteful leakage of methane, the main component of natural gas, is all the more striking given today’s backdrop of very tight and volatile gas markets. Methane leaks in 2021 from fossil fuel operations, if captured and marketed, would have made an additional 180 billion cubic metres of gas available to the market, an amount similar to all the gas used in Europe’s power sector. This would have been comfortably enough to ease today’s price pressures.

The best companies and countries are showing what can be done to reduce emissions from oil and gas operations, but the intensity of methane emissions (emissions per unit of production) ranges widely. The best performing countries are more than 100 times better than the worst. Norway and the Netherlands have the lowest emissions intensities in our updated Tracker, and countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also have relatively low emissions intensities; Turkmenistan and Venezuela have the highest. If all producing countries were to match Norway’s emissions intensity, global methane emissions from oil and gas operations would fall by more than 90%.

Increased attention to methane abatement in recent years, including new measurement campaigns and technologies, may be having some effect. The estimated rise in energy-related methane emissions in 2021 leaves them slightly below where they were in 2019, even though overall energy demand and fossil fuel production are both back above pre-crisis levels. However, the limited availability of measured data for most countries means we cannot state with confidence where and how abatement efforts might actually be reducing emissions.

Satellites are providing a major boost to overall efforts to increase transparency on emissions sources, especially for very large leaks. Satellites are contributing important insights into the size and duration of large leaks in places such as the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia and across the United States, including the main US shale plays.

The areas open to observation by satellite are increasing but the coverage they provide is still far from complete: existing satellites do not provide measurements over equatorial regions, northern areas (including the main Russian oil and gas producing areas) or for offshore operations. Other measurement-based campaigns will remain essential, and the optimal system will combine satellite measurements with drone-based and other aerial surveys, ground-based sensors and surveys, and continuous monitoring devices.

Large leaks from oil and gas operations were detected by satellite in 15 countries in 2021, with significant emissions from the Permian basin in Texas and very large leaks in parts of Central Asia. Turkmenistan alone was responsible for one-third of the very large emissions events seen by satellites in 2021. Relatively few major leaks were seen among the major onshore producers in the Middle East. In the 15 countries where observations were made, around 6% of our total estimate of methane emissions from oil and gas operations in 2021 were ultra-emitting events seen by satellites.

Uncertainty over emissions levels is no reason to delay action on methane. If all countries implemented tried and tested policies that have already been used effectively in multiple settings, it would cut global methane emissions from oil and gas operations in half. These include banning non-emergency flaring, imposing mandatory leak detection and repair programmes, and introducing equipment standards. Many hydrocarbon producing countries have policies in place they can build on.

Our broad reviews of policies and regulations reveal some success stories that other countries can look to for inspiration. The United States and Canada have both implemented key tried and tested approaches, although there is still room to strengthen their requirements and expand coverage further. Norway and the Netherlands have gone the furthest towards adopting a comprehensive regime, as they have robust measurement and reporting requirements, ensure best industry practice, and economic incentives that encourage abatement action. Actions under the EU Methane Strategy will broaden these efforts across Europe.

Tackling methane emissions from coal mines – included for the first time in this year’s Tracker – is more challenging than tackling emissions from oil and gas operations, but it cannot be ignored. Coal-related methane emissions from China, the world’s largest coal producer and emitter of coal mine methane, are equivalent to total CO₂ emissions from international shipping. Significant opportunities remain to reduce methane emissions from coal mines based on existing technology, which could be essential given the risk that coal demand remains high in the coming years.

Emissions from bioenergy are largely due to the incomplete combustion of solid biomass used as a cooking fuel in many developing economies. Accelerated progress towards universal access to clean cooking fuels would dramatically cut these emissions.