Oil and gas production is contributing even more to global warming than was thought, study finds
4 years, 10 months ago

Oil and gas production is contributing even more to global warming than was thought, study finds

CNN  

CNN — Among greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is the most significant contributor to global warming and therefore, public enemy No. Now, a new study finds that methane emissions from fossil fuels are between 25% and 40% larger than past research had estimated, revealing that oil and gas production is contributing far more to warming the planet than previously thought. All told, the scientists say their findings show that oil and gas production account for nearly half of all the methane in our air that is attributable to human activity. “Methane is particularly important as we try to slow the rate of climate change because it’s a strong greenhouse gas over a short time period,” said Denise Mauzerall, an environmental engineering professor at Princeton University, who has studied methane leakage from abandoned oil and gas wells as well as offshore rigs. And while burning natural gas produces far less carbon dioxide than coal-fired power generation, the methane emissions associated with natural gas production are a serious problem for the planet.

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Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high - with 37.4 BILLION tonnes of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere this year, study reveals
1 month, 4 weeks ago

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high - with 37.4 BILLION tonnes of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere this year, study reveals

Daily Mail  

Britain is making great strides eliminating the use of fossil fuels, including closing down our last ever coal-burning power plant. CO2 emissions from fossil fuels will reach 37.4 billion tonnes by the end of the year, the experts predict - up 0.8 per cent from 2023. The UK will have emitted around 0.3 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2024 by …

"Alarm bells ringing" as report finds greenhouse gas emissions growing faster than ever
2 months, 1 week ago

"Alarm bells ringing" as report finds greenhouse gas emissions growing faster than ever

Salon  

The World Meteorological Organization, released its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin earlier this week, reporting that humans are emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a faster rate than ever before, contributing significantly to climate change. The WMO reports historically high levels of the greenhouse gasses methane and nitrous oxide, which like carbon dioxide are common byproducts of human industry. These …

Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame
4 months ago

Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame

Associated Press  

The amount and proportion of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane that humans spew into the atmosphere is rising, helping to turbocharge climate change, a new study finds. “Methane is a climate menace that the world is ignoring,” study lead author Rob Jackson, head of the Global Carbon Project, which is a group of scientists who monitor greenhouse gas emissions yearly. …

Human activity now fuels two-thirds of global methane emissions, report finds
4 months ago

Human activity now fuels two-thirds of global methane emissions, report finds

LA Times  

The world is moving in a perilous direction when it comes to planet-warming methane emissions, which are soaring to record highs driven largely by human activity, new research warns. Although many people associate methane with cow burps and melting permafrost, a paper published this week in the journal Earth System Science Data found that global methane emissions over the last …

Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame
4 months ago

Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame

New Indian Express  

The amount and proportion of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane that humans spew into the atmosphere is rising, helping to turbocharge climate change, a new study finds. Tuesday’s study finds that in 2020, the last year complete data is available, the world put 670 million tons of methane in the air, up nearly 12% from 2000. “Methane is a climate …

'Worrisome': Global methane spike imperils climate goals, study warns
5 months, 1 week ago

'Worrisome': Global methane spike imperils climate goals, study warns

Raw Story  

Methane emissions are rising faster than expected, a new study has warned, and the surge is putting global climate goals at risk. The study, published Monday in Frontiers in Science, found that methane emissions have risen quickly since 2006, with the growth rates for atmospheric methane seeing an "abrupt and rapid increase" in the early 2020s. "The growth rate of …

Out-of-control heat is making Earth more "weird" — and more deadly
6 months ago

Out-of-control heat is making Earth more "weird" — and more deadly

Salon  

For the 13th consecutive month, Earth's average monthly temperature has broken all previous records, continuing a streak that began in June 2023. "We see increases in deadly heat waves and droughts, but also an increased experience of 'global weirding' — more extreme weather events producing conditions that are entirely new for communities." "It's a stark warning that we are getting …

US energy industry methane emissions are triple what government thinks, study finds
9 months, 4 weeks ago

US energy industry methane emissions are triple what government thinks, study finds

Associated Press  

American oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government thinks, causing $9.3 billion in yearly climate damage, a new comprehensive study calculates. About 40% of the global methane emissions from oil, gas and coal could have been avoided at no extra cost, which is “a …

Methane emissions from energy sector rose in 2023: IEA
9 months, 4 weeks ago

Methane emissions from energy sector rose in 2023: IEA

The Hindu  

“Planet-heating methane released by the fossil fuel industry rose to near record highs in 2023 despite technology available to curb this pollution at virtually no cost,” the International Energy Agency said on March 13. “Slashing emissions of methane — second only to carbon dioxide for its contribution to global warming — is essential to meeting international targets on climate change,” …

Methane emissions from energy industry are triple what government thinks, study finds
9 months, 4 weeks ago

Methane emissions from energy industry are triple what government thinks, study finds

LA Times  

A flare burns at a well pad in North Dakota. American oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government thinks, a new comprehensive study calculates. “If we can get this roughly 1% of sites under control, then we’re halfway there because that’s about half of …

Watch | Earth looks like gas giant Jupiter as carbon emissions engulf the planet
1 year, 6 months ago

Watch | Earth looks like gas giant Jupiter as carbon emissions engulf the planet

India Today  

Climate change has worsened the situation on the planet as greenhouse gas emissions continue to raise global temperatures and wreak havoc across the world. See Pics | Mercury looks bruised and battered in new pictures WATCH CO2 ENGULF EARTH IN NASA VISUALISATION The visualisation shows the amount of CO2 being added into the atmosphere in 2021. "Scientists are carefully monitoring …

Planet warming at ‘unprecedented rate’, study finds
1 year, 7 months ago

Planet warming at ‘unprecedented rate’, study finds

Al Jazeera  

Human-induced warming has been increasing at a rate of 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade, scientists say in a new study. From 2013 to 2022, “human-induced warming has been increasing at an unprecedented rate of more than 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade,” 50 top scientists warned on Thursday in a sweeping climate science update. World leaders will be confronted with the …

Methane big part of ‘alarming’ rise in planet-warming gases
1 year, 9 months ago

Methane big part of ‘alarming’ rise in planet-warming gases

Associated Press  

Methane in the atmosphere had its fourth-highest annual increase in 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported, part of an overall rise in planet-warming greenhouse gases that the agency called “alarming.” Though carbon dioxide typically gets more attention for its role in climate change, scientists are particularly concerned about methane because it traps much more heat — about 87 …

The way we eat could add nearly 1 degree of warming by 2100
1 year, 10 months ago

The way we eat could add nearly 1 degree of warming by 2100

Associated Press  

Greenhouse gas emissions from the way humans produce and consume food could add nearly 1 degree of warming to the Earth’s climate by 2100, according to a new study. “I think the biggest takeaway that I would want to have is the fact that methane emissions are really dominating the future warming associated with the food sector,” said Catherine C. …

Carbon dioxide emissions reached a record high in 2022
1 year, 10 months ago

Carbon dioxide emissions reached a record high in 2022

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Communities around the world emitted more carbon dioxide in 2022 than in any other year on records dating to 1900, a result of air travel rebounding from the pandemic and more cities turning to coal as a low-cost source of power. Extreme weather events intensified last year’s carbon dioxide emissions: Droughts reduced the amount of water available …

It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions
1 year, 10 months ago

It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions

Salon  

Oil companies and governments have pledged to slash methane emissions in recent years, but so far have little to show for it. The group condemned the oil and gas industry for failing to address this problem even as it saw record profits last year, driven up by a tighter energy market following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The technology needed to …

'No excuse': IEA tells energy firms as methane emissions rise
1 year, 10 months ago

'No excuse': IEA tells energy firms as methane emissions rise

The Hindu  

The fossil fuel industry is failing to tackle methane emissions despite its pledges to uncover and fix leaking infrastructure, according to a report by the International Energy Agency published on Tuesday. Last year's emissions rose above 2020 and 2021 levels, and were only slightly below the record amount released in 2019, despite high energy prices and surging demand for natural …

Climate Questions: What are the solutions to climate change?
2 years, 2 months ago

Climate Questions: What are the solutions to climate change?

Associated Press  

As the world warms and extreme weather events mount, governments and corporations have been called on to address climate change by top officials, climate scientists and activists and to curb levels of heating. ___ Scientists and officials agree that it’s important to not make matters worse by burning even more fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — that …

U.N. weather agency: Greenhouse gases reach new record in 2021
2 years, 2 months ago

U.N. weather agency: Greenhouse gases reach new record in 2021

The Hindu  

The three main greenhouse gases hit record high levels in the atmosphere last year, the U.N. weather agency said on Wednesday, calling it an “ominous” sign as war in Ukraine, rising costs of food and fuel, and other worries have elbowed in on longtime concerns about global warming in recent months. Of the three main types of heat-trapping greenhouse gases …

UN weather agency: Greenhouse gases reach new record in 2021
2 years, 2 months ago

UN weather agency: Greenhouse gases reach new record in 2021

Associated Press  

GENEVA — The three main greenhouse gases hit record high levels in the atmosphere last year, the U.N. weather agency said Wednesday, calling it an “ominous” sign as war in Ukraine, rising costs of food and fuel, and other worries have elbowed in on longtime concerns about global warming in recent months. Of the three main types of heat-trapping greenhouse …

Methane from flaring by oil companies much bigger threat to climate than previously thought, study warns
2 years, 3 months ago

Methane from flaring by oil companies much bigger threat to climate than previously thought, study warns

The Independent  

The 160-year-old oil industry practice of flaring to burn off associated emissions during petroleum extraction could be releasing five times more amount of methane in the US than previously thought, according to a new study. Based on the new findings, researchers, including those from the University of Michigan in the US, say fixing issues with flaring can cut greenhouse gas …

Climate Change: A planet in crisis
2 years, 6 months ago

Climate Change: A planet in crisis

Live Mint  

This has been a bad few weeks for climate action around the world. First came a damaging US Supreme Court ruling that severely limited the US Environment Protection Agency’s mandate to limit carbon emissions in the energy sector. This presents a severe setback to US President Joe Biden’s attempts to steer the world’s biggest carbon emitting country away from fossil …

EU decision on natural gas could threaten climate progress
2 years, 6 months ago

EU decision on natural gas could threaten climate progress

Associated Press  

The European Union’s plan to include natural gas in a list of activities considered sustainable could derail its progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a time when climate scientists are calling for dramatic reductions to planet-warming releases. Natural gas has been promoted as a “bridge fuel” because in a side-by-side comparison of power plants, natural gas produces less carbon …

Climate change: Humans generated 640 mn tons methane, 36 bn tons CO2 in 2021, scientists call it alarming
2 years, 9 months ago

Climate change: Humans generated 640 mn tons methane, 36 bn tons CO2 in 2021, scientists call it alarming

India Today  

Days after scientists on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to avoid a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in global temperature, a new report paints a grim picture. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observed a record annual increase in atmospheric levels of methane, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas that causes global warming, …

NOAA: Potent heat-trapping methane increases at record pace
2 years, 9 months ago

NOAA: Potent heat-trapping methane increases at record pace

Associated Press  

Global atmospheric levels of the potent but short-lived greenhouse gas methane increased a record amount last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, worrying scientists because of the large role methane has in climate change. Methane levels are now way more than double pre-industrial levels of 720 parts per billion, said Lindsay Lan, an atmospheric scientist at NOAA …

How coal, climate justice and zero emissions clashed at COP26
3 years, 1 month ago

How coal, climate justice and zero emissions clashed at COP26

The Hindu  

The 26th United Nations Conference of Parties ended in tears. Sharma, who’d extended the conference proceedings by a day, couldn’t get the world to decisively commit to two things: that all countries must cut carbon dioxide emissions so that it doesn’t lead to global warming rising beyond 1.5°C by 2100; and that it was time to set a date to …

Worried about CO2 warming up Earth? This invisible gas traps 80 times more heat
3 years, 4 months ago

Worried about CO2 warming up Earth? This invisible gas traps 80 times more heat

Hindustan Times  

The world often talks about stopping emission of carbon dioxide to slow down climate change effects, but now an invisible and odourless gas is threatening to heat up the planet faster. That gas is methane, the super-potent greenhouse gas that's the main component of liquefied natural gas. Sources of methane According to United States' environmental protection agency, methane is a …

UN: Cutting methane quickly key to curbing dangerous warming
3 years, 8 months ago

UN: Cutting methane quickly key to curbing dangerous warming

Associated Press  

Cutting the super-potent greenhouse gas methane quickly and dramatically is the world’s best hope to slow and limit the worst of global warming, a new United Nations report says. Because methane helps make smog, cutting annual emissions of the gas by 45% or nearly 200 million tons could potentially prevent about 250,000 deaths a year worldwide from pollution-triggered health problems, …

Cutting methane quickly is key to curbing dangerous warming, U.N. report says
3 years, 8 months ago

Cutting methane quickly is key to curbing dangerous warming, U.N. report says

LA Times  

Satellite images shows methane plumes rising from natural gas sites in Aliso Canyon north of Los Angeles and the Permian Basin in Texas. Cutting the super-potent greenhouse gas methane quickly and dramatically is the world’s best hope to slow and limit the worst of global warming, a new United Nations report says. Because methane helps make smog, cutting annual emissions …

Humanity’s methane problem could be much bigger than scientists thought
4 years, 10 months ago

Humanity’s methane problem could be much bigger than scientists thought

LA Times  

Fossil-fuel production may be responsible for much more atmospheric methane than scientists previously thought, according to new research published today in the journal Nature. Scientists aren’t challenging the top-line amount of fossil methane that enters the atmosphere every year — that number stays at about 194 million metric tons, says Benjamin Hmiel, a postdoctoral fellow in Earth science at the …

Natural gas surpasses coal in carbon emissions
5 years ago

Natural gas surpasses coal in carbon emissions

Salon  

Recent estimates produced by the Global Carbon Project, an academic consortium, detailed an unexpected story regarding carbon dioxide emissions in the United States: carbon emissions from coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, are on a steady decline, and carbon emissions from natural gas now surpass coal. According to the data, carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. from natural gas are projected …

America’s liquefied natural gas boom may be on a collision course with climate change
5 years, 6 months ago

America’s liquefied natural gas boom may be on a collision course with climate change

CNN  

New York CNN Business — America’s liquefied natural gas boom has a climate change problem, according to a report released on Monday. Lindsey Janies/Bloomberg/Getty Images Kramarchuk said that there are still cases in which natural gas has “clear environmental benefits” as long as it’s pushing out coal and being produced and shipped safely. The business group added, “the U.S. and …

Methane in the atmosphere is surging, and that’s got scientists worried
5 years, 10 months ago

Methane in the atmosphere is surging, and that’s got scientists worried

LA Times  

Scientists love a good mystery. That’s because many scenarios for meeting its goal of keeping global warming “well below 2 degrees Celsius” assumed that methane would be falling by now, buying time to tackle the long-term challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. “I don’t want to run around and cry wolf all the time, but it is something that is …

US carbon emissions rise sharply in 2018 – after 3 years of decline
6 years ago

US carbon emissions rise sharply in 2018 – after 3 years of decline

CNN  

CNN — After three years of decline, climate-change-causing carbon emissions rose sharply in the United States last year, according to new research. Carbon emissions increased 3.4% in 2018, marking the second-largest annual gain in more than two decades, according to preliminary power generation data analyzed by the Rhodium Group, an independent economic policy research provider. “Most of the increase last …

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