[NGW Magazine] Stopping Methane Leakage - Preview

With expectations that natural gas demand will grow in the future, the focus now is on stopping emissions so that its opponents have fewer grounds to object to the relatively clean fuel.

As gas replaces coal and its use grows in other applications such as chemicals, plastics and fertilisers, stopping methane emissions has come to the top of the energy industry’s list of priorities. At least that is the view expounded by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its World Energy Outlook 2017 (WEO 2017).

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), with roughly 30 times more greenhouse warming potential than carbon dioxide over a 100-yr timeframe. It is estimated that the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is about 2.5 times greater than pre-industrial levels. However, the IEA states that estimating methane emissions is subject to a high degree of uncertainty.

The full article is available in NGW Magazine Volume 3, Issue 2, now available to Premium Subscribers and on sale in our store. Subscribe to NGW Premium - $16.50* month

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