Analysis from Ceres and Clean Air Task Force benchmarking the relative emissions intensity and total reported methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide emissions of more than 300 U.S. oil and gas producers finds dramatic variations between companies and basins.

Sharp and rapid reductions in methane emissions this decade are essential to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. While carbon dioxide has a longer lasting effect, methane has 80 times the warming power of CO2 in the first 20 years after emissions reach the atmosphere, meaning methane is setting the pace for near-term global warming.

Methane has been responsible for roughly 30 percent of global warming since preindustrial times, and it has more than 80 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has had a dramatic impact on the global energy system. Russia was the world’s largest oil and natural gas exporter in 2021, and energy markets have been thrown into turmoil, with major energy security and supply risks worldwide.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land use (AFOLU) sector comprises of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture practices, livestock, and changes in forest and land use. GHG emissions from livestock sub-sector includes emissions due to enteric fermentation in herbivores and manure management practices.

Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, and rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are key to limiting near-term global warming and improving air quality.

An Eye on Methane: International Methane Emissions Observatory 2021 Report describes how state actors can take action to curb methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry, and what progress has been made as part of the decarbonization process, particularly in the energy sector.

With climate change intensifying and scientists warning that humanity is running out of time to limit global warming to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels, 2021 has been a fraught year for the planet.

Tackling methane emissions from fossil fuel operations represents one of the best near-term opportunities for limiting the worse effects of climate change because of its short-lived nature in the atmosphere and the large scope for cost-effective abatement, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

The latest report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC), Keeping 1.5°C Alive: Closing the Gap in the 2020s, sets out the key actions necessary in the 2020s to deliver the Paris agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C.