IEA Collaborates with GHGSat for Methane Tracking

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is collaborating with GHGSat integrating aggregated facility-level high-resolution data from its satellites into its reports, starting with the Global Methane Tracker 2023.

"IEA's Global Methane Tracker provides the clearest view available on methane emissions from the energy sector around the world every year." GHGSat President Stephane Germain.

GHGSat President Stephane Germain.

GHGSat is providing the IEA with measurements performed by its constellation of 6 satellites at individual industrial facilities around the world. This unique insight on methane emissions directly attributable to sites will help the IEA generate an increasingly accurate picture of methane emissions from the energy sector.

GHGSat Spacecraft Support IEA Mission

The IEA's mission is to work towards a secure and sustainable energy future with governments, industry, civil society and other stakeholders. Its Global Methane Tracker is the reference for information on the scale of the challenge - and the opportunity - posed by methane emissions from the energy sector. The report also provides a roadmap for the Global Methane Pledge, highlighting areas where progress has been made and others where improvements would increase impact.

GHGSat's constellation has made over 550,000 facility measurements and identified nearly 8 Mt of methane emissions worldwide across industries in 2022. The accurate data on industrial methane emissions will complement other datasets used in IEA’s analysis and the Global Methane Tracker. With 5 more methane satellites to be launched in 2023, GHGSat expects to bring even more emissions insights to the discussion.

"IEA's Global Methane Tracker provides the clearest view available on methane emissions from the energy sector around the world every year," said GHGSat President Stephane Germain.

"Contributing our unique facility-level measurements will help provide even deeper insight to IEA’s analysis. This is a great opportunity to enhance our global understanding of methane emissions and we look forward to growing this collaboration over the years to come."

"The IEA’s Global Methane Tracker brings together the best and most up-to-date empirical data to provide a holistic picture of methane emissions globally," said Tim Gould, Chief Energy Economist at the IEA. "Satellites are providing a major boost to our understanding of the level and nature of methane emissions, and I am delighted that we are able to draw on the insights and data available from GHGSat’s array of satellites in this year’s update of the Tracker.”

(Source: GHGSat news release. Images provided and from file)