UN signs deal for satellite methane monitoring

Launched at the G20 Summit in 2021, the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) is part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its aim is to introduce new methods and technologies to improve visibility of methane emissions from human activity, generally associated with fossil fuel extraction and processing. To date, much of the data on methane emissions has been self-reported by energy companies and, in many cases, found to be underestimated by a considerable distance.

UNEP’s new deal with environmental technology company Kayrros will aim to bring transparency to methane reporting. Using a combination of satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and ‘geoanalytics’, Kayrros will assist UNEP in building a global dataset of ‘empirically verified methane emissions at an increasing level of accuracy and granularity’.

This dataset will then be used by regulators, policymakers and the companies themselves to target a reduction in methane emissions, part of The Global Methane Pledge. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse, responsible for around 20 per cent of temperature increases to date. What’s more, methane drives global heating more than 80 times faster than CO2 over its initial 20 years in Earth’s atmosphere, making it a vital battleground in the climate crisis.