September 30 (Reuters) – Ruptures of the Nord Stream gas pipeline network under the Baltic Sea have resulted in what is likely the largest single release of climate-damaging methane on record, the United Nations Environment Program said on Friday. .
A huge plume of highly concentrated methane, a much more potent but shorter-lived greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, was detected this week during an analysis of satellite images by researchers associated with the UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, or IMEO, the organization said.
“It’s really bad, quite possibly the biggest emission event ever detected,” UNEP IMEO manager Manfredi Caltagirone told Reuters. “It’s not helpful at a time when we absolutely need to cut emissions.”
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Researchers from GHGSat, which uses satellites to monitor methane emissions, estimated the leak rate from one of the four flashpoints to be 22,920 kilograms per hour. That’s equivalent to burning about 630,000 pounds of coal per hour, GHGSat said in a statement.
“This rate is very high, especially considering it’s four days after the initial breach,” the company said.
The total amount of methane escaping from the Gazprom-run pipeline system (GAZP.MM) could be higher than that from a major leak in December from offshore oil and gas fields in Mexican Gulf waters. Mexico, which spilled about 100 metric meters. tonnes of methane per hour, Caltagirone said.
The Gulf of Mexico leak, also visible from space, ultimately released around 40,000 tonnes of methane over 17 days, according to a study conducted by the Polytechnic University of Valencia and published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
That’s equivalent to burning 1.1 billion pounds of coal, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalents Calculator.
Improved satellite technology has rapidly improved scientists’ ability to find and analyze greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, which some governments hope will help companies detect and prevent methane emissions.
The major leaks that suddenly erupted in the Nord Stream gas pipelines that connect Russia to Europe have generated many theories, but few clear answers about who or what caused the damage. Russia and the European Union have suggested that the ruptures were caused by saboteurs.
Europe and the United States have imposed sanctions on Moscow in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, raising fears that the Kremlin is seeking to deprive Europe of crucial energy supplies before winter.
Caltagirone said whatever the cause, the damage to the pipeline poses a problem beyond energy security. “It’s the most wasteful way to generate emissions,” he said.
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Written by Richard Valdmanis Editing by Frances Kerry and Howard Goller
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