Gases that are harmful to the climate are also released into the atmosphere during oil and gas production. That is known. But the sheer amount of methane emissions is apparently significantly higher than officially indicated.
Three times as many climate-damaging gases are released during the extraction and production of oil and gas than the states have so far officially reported to the United Nations. This is shown by measurements by the non-profit initiative Trace, in which data analysts, researchers and non-governmental organizations work together. Former US Vice President Al Gore, who presented the data at the world climate conference in Egypt on Wednesday, is also involved.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner said that the emission of the greenhouse gas methane in fossil fuel plants is particularly grossly underestimated, for example when they are deliberately burned off and through leaks. “It’s really shocking.” According to the data report, half of the world’s largest sources of climate-damaging greenhouse gases are oil and gas production sites and associated facilities.
According to the data, Germany emitted around 1.4 percent of the greenhouse gases recorded worldwide in 2021 – and is therefore in 10th place in terms of quantity. Energy production contributed a good 30 percent to emissions in Germany – the transport sector contributed almost 20 percent. China is number one in the global rankings, with a 27.6 percent share of gas emissions, followed by the USA with just under 12 percent.
Gore said this is the most detailed mapping in the world of exactly where greenhouse gases are emitted. It is about more transparency, the naming of responsibilities and ultimately about preventing fraud.
UN Secretary-General António Gutteres complained that many important greenhouse gas sources are not yet on the radar in real time. Therefore, the Trace initiative is important because it independently collects emissions data, mostly through direct observation using artificial intelligence. That creates “radical transparency,” he said. “They make greenwashing more difficult. Or, to put it bluntly: cheating.”
Trace data report
Source: Stern
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