Its the oil and gas industry that needs to reduce Canada's methane emissions. All it requires is operators and governments to get the job done but they always have lame excuses. AKA it will lower our profits! 
Methane emissions escaping from Alberta underestimated by 50 per cent, study finds
Researchers cast doubt on official numbers, call for better baseline data
Bob Weber ([url]https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/author/bob-weber-1.4294305[/url]) · The Canadian Press · Posted: Nov 20, 2023 10:09 AM CST | Last Updated: November 20
Emissions of a potent greenhouse gas from Alberta's energy industry are underestimated by nearly 50 per cent, according to a new study from one of Canada's premier climate labs.
The study from Carleton University's Energy and Emissions Research Lab also says oil and gas produced in the province emit significantly more methane for the energy produced than jurisdictions such as British Columbia — a measurement that offers a warning to industry, said lead author Matthew Johnson.
"The future is, your ability to sell [gas] into certain markets will be based on methane intensity," he said.
Johnson's lab, which published its latest paper in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, combined several different measuring methods for methane, a greenhouse gas considered to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after its release. 'A different picture'
In methods published and praised in the scientific literature and now in use by the United Nations Environment Program, the team measured emissions at surface level, from a plane and from satellite data.
It's the first time so-called "bottom-up" methods — which depend on ground-based measurements and estimates and is used by industry — have been combined with "top-down" methods from above.
The team looked at 3,500 different oil and gas facilities and 5,600 wells.
It concluded official government and industry estimates of methane emissions from Alberta's oilpatch are 50 per cent too low.
"It's quite a different picture," said Johnson.
In 2021, Alberta's methane emissions were officially estimated to equal 15 megatonnes of carbon dioxide a year. That adds up to the yearly emissions of three million cars, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
If Johnson's paper is right, the correct equivalent for Alberta's emissions would be closer to 4.5 million cars.
The paper also concludes that the methane is coming from significantly different sources than government and industry think it is. Venting from tanks accounts for about a quarter of such emissions, instead of the three per cent that official sources say.
Knowing where the gas is coming from is key to stopping its escape, Johnson said.
Johnson said Environment and Climate Change Canada is currently re-evaluating its methane statistics in light of work from his lab, which has published a series of papers that throw doubt on official numbers. The lab has concluded methane emissions are also underestimated in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
​
Methane emissions escaping from Alberta underestimated by 50 per cent, study finds
Researchers cast doubt on official numbers, call for better baseline data
Bob Weber ([url]https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/author/bob-weber-1.4294305[/url]) · The Canadian Press · Posted: Nov 20, 2023 10:09 AM CST | Last Updated: November 20
Emissions of a potent greenhouse gas from Alberta's energy industry are underestimated by nearly 50 per cent, according to a new study from one of Canada's premier climate labs.
The study from Carleton University's Energy and Emissions Research Lab also says oil and gas produced in the province emit significantly more methane for the energy produced than jurisdictions such as British Columbia — a measurement that offers a warning to industry, said lead author Matthew Johnson.
"The future is, your ability to sell [gas] into certain markets will be based on methane intensity," he said.
Johnson's lab, which published its latest paper in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, combined several different measuring methods for methane, a greenhouse gas considered to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after its release. 'A different picture'
In methods published and praised in the scientific literature and now in use by the United Nations Environment Program, the team measured emissions at surface level, from a plane and from satellite data.
It's the first time so-called "bottom-up" methods — which depend on ground-based measurements and estimates and is used by industry — have been combined with "top-down" methods from above.
The team looked at 3,500 different oil and gas facilities and 5,600 wells.
It concluded official government and industry estimates of methane emissions from Alberta's oilpatch are 50 per cent too low.
"It's quite a different picture," said Johnson.
In 2021, Alberta's methane emissions were officially estimated to equal 15 megatonnes of carbon dioxide a year. That adds up to the yearly emissions of three million cars, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
If Johnson's paper is right, the correct equivalent for Alberta's emissions would be closer to 4.5 million cars.
The paper also concludes that the methane is coming from significantly different sources than government and industry think it is. Venting from tanks accounts for about a quarter of such emissions, instead of the three per cent that official sources say.
Knowing where the gas is coming from is key to stopping its escape, Johnson said.
Johnson said Environment and Climate Change Canada is currently re-evaluating its methane statistics in light of work from his lab, which has published a series of papers that throw doubt on official numbers. The lab has concluded methane emissions are also underestimated in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
​
Comment