The Uncertain Climate Cost of Natural Gas: Assessment of methane leakage discrepancies in Europe, Russia and the US, and implications for sustainability

Here we present a comparison of some countriesof interest: The US, Germany, the Netherlands andRussia, with a critical investigation of their nationalinventories (e.g., data acquisition, monitoring, etc.)and emphasis on the large discrepancies in lossesreported across each of the gas segments. Of particularrelevance is the case of the US, where estimationsof gas leakage rates during upstream operationsare considerably higher than European rates. Similarinvestigations are lacking worldwide, but there isincreasing awareness of this issue, with several initiativesoriginating from international institutions(UNECE), NGOs (CCAC) and gas operators(Marcogaz). To achieve the ambitious internationalgoals outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, itis crucial for policy makers to take appropriate andtimely measures in collaboration with the naturalgas industry, to empirically inspect and mitigatemethane emissions, whose effect on global temperatureis of similar concern to that of carbon dioxide.