New Satellite Set to Launch with Goal to Monitor Methane Emissions
Google and the Environmental Defense Fund are pairing up to launch a satellite, known as MethaneSAT, in order to track and map methane emissions.
MethaneSAT, which is expected to launch in March, will be one of several satellites that will eventually record methane emissions all around the world and will even pinpoint major contributors of the greenhouse gas.
Google reports that data from MethaneSAT, which will be orbiting Earth 15 times a day, will be available later in the year. Not only will everyone have access to this information, but Google stated that it will use artificial intelligence to generate a map of oil and gas infrastructure. The emissions data recorded from the satellite will then be set on top of the infrastructure map to aid in finding patterns in the oil and gas leaks.
Credit: Environmental Defense Fund
Methane leaks into the atmosphere from extracting fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. With this methane detection system with unparalleled precision, the goal of the project is to aid EDF in tracing the emissions to the source and from there, can work on reducing the emissions effectively.
"Achieving real results means that the government, civil society, and industry need to know how much methane is coming from where, who is responsible for those emissions, and how those emissions are changing over time,” Steve Hamburg EDF's chief scientist and the project lead for MethaneSAT said to the media. “We need the data on a global scale."
The launch of the project stems from governments starting to regulate and suppress the greenhouse gas. In 2021, the Global Methane Pledge was launched with over 150 countries agreeing to reduce emissions by 30%. Major oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil have vowed to reduce their methane leaks to almost zero by 2030. During the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2023, other big companies accounting for 40% of global oil and gas production also gave their word to eliminate methane leaks from their operations. However, methane emissions continue to increase.
2023 was recorded as the hottest year on Earth and the past 10 years have been warmer than any other decade since 1850. With that increase comes more wildfires, droughts and other extreme environmental phenomena. The United States is among the top methane-emitting countries and needs to start being more accountable for these actions. With this new technology, Google and EDF aim to do just that, hold businesses and entities accountable in order to spark a change in the global warming crisis.
