资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

The flaring gas and smoke that bellow into the sky from Iraq’s southern oil fields are visible from miles away. 

Not only is the flaring unsightly but it is an environmental hazard, releasing black carbon, which is linked to air pollution, respiratory disease, and emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The International Energy Agency estimated that in 2019 Iraq contributed 9 per cent of all global methane emissions originating from the oil and gas sector. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that over half of all methane emissions come from human-linked activity. Some 35 per cent of human-linked methane is from fossil fuels, 40 per cent from agriculture and 20 per cent from waste, according to the Global Methane Assessment.

Produced by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and UNEP,  the assessment found that by cutting human-made methane emissions by 45 per cent this decade, or 180 million tonnes a year, nearly 0.3°C of global warming would be averted by 2045. This could help limit the global temperature rise to 1.5˚C and put the planet on track to achieve the Paris Agreement targets.

“Reducing methane is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to reduce global warming,” said Giulia Ferrini, who manages the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by UNEP and CCAC. “There are very simple, cost-effective ways for the oil and gas industry to contribute to its reduction,” she added.

According to the Global Methane Assessment, 80 per cent of the oil and gas industry, and 98 per cent of the coal industry’s measures to cut methane could be implemented at negative or low cost.