Turkmenistan's methane leaks surpass UK's total carbon emissions

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🗞️ Driving the news: Satellite data produced reveals that Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields alone produced more global heating in 2022 than the UK's total carbon emissions
• Turkmenistan fossil fields leaked 4.4m tonnes of methane in 2022, equivalent to 366m tonnes of CO2

Note: super-emitting events, are defined as leaks from single wells, tanks, or pipes at a rate of a few tonnes an hour or more

🌎 Why it matters for the planet: Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps 80 times more heat than CO2 over a 20-year period. It is responsible for almost half of the short-term climate warming
• Experts stress the importance of addressing methane leaks from fossil fuel sites as the quickest and most cost-effective way to reduce methane emissions

🔭 The context: The upcoming COP28 UN climate summit hosted in the UAE is viewed as an opportunity to promote methane reduction efforts around the world 
• There is pressure on the UAE to demonstrate that major oil and gas producers can make significant contributions to the summit's outcomes

⏭️ What’s next: Turkmenistan’s president, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, failed to act on his previous pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and methane leaks
• Watch for potential diplomatic efforts to encourage Turkmenistan and other countries to curb methane emissions in the lead-up to the COP28 summit 

💬 One quote: "Methane is responsible for almost half of the short-term climate warming and it was completely out of control" (Antoine Rostand, president of Kayrros)

⛏️ To dig deeper: Check out illuminem's Thought Piece on "Why reducing methane is better than CO2 to fight against climate change"

The full-length article was published in The Guardian.