Australia Methane Emissions ‘Grossly’ Underestimated, Study Says

The “gross under-reporting” of methane leaks from Australia’s fossil fuel sector signals the urgent need for many large industrial facilities to double their rate of decarbonization, according to a new report.

Leaks of the potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas have likely been underreported by 90%, a report published Wednesday from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA, showed citing International Energy Agency’s estimates. The figure was 80% for coal. The discrepancy corresponds to roughly 28 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of under-reported leaks and suggests major emitters will need to accelerate efforts to meet emissions reduction obligations this decade. ...