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Between 2017 and 2021, 44 California facilities voluntarily
repaired methane leaks after they were notified about them as
part of a pilot research program that used specially-equipped
aircraft to detect and measure methane being released into the
atmosphere.
The results of the study are a sign that one of the first in a
growing number of efforts to deploy space-age technology to
locate big sources of methane, an odorless colorless gas, is
succeeding.
The fixes prevented the equivalent of 1.2 million metric tons of
carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere, the two groups
said in a statement, which is equal to taking about 250,000 cars
off the road for a year. The reductions were verified with
follow-up observations.
The program is a partnership between the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) and Carbon Mapper, a non-profit group
that is an outgrowth of research that began in 2016 at NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in its first
20 years in the atmosphere, and scientists say identifying
methane sources is crucial to making the drastic emissions cuts
needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
"The simple truth about this super pollutant is that you can't
stop methane leaks if you don't know where they're coming from.
This research pilot provides a powerful example for how data
generated from remote observations can find leaks and inform
actions to quickly stop them," Richard Corey, CARB's executive
officer, said.
Carbon Mapper will launch its first methane-spotting satellite
next year.
The announcement did not identify all the facilities that
mitigated their methane emissions, but said Sempra Energy gas
utility SoCalGas had responded to leaks identified in a pipeline
by the airborne surveys.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Richard Pullin)
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