This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
methane leaks alone from Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields caused more global heating in 2022 than the entire carbon emissions of the United Kingdom, satellite data has revealed.
Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil- and gas-rich country are “mind-boggling,” and an “infuriating” problem that should be easy to fix, experts have told the Guardian.
The data produced by Kayrros for the Guardian found that the western fossil fuel field in Turkmenistan, on the Caspian coast, leaked 2.6 million tons of methane in 2022. The eastern field emitted 1.8 million tons. Together, the two fields released emissions equivalent to 366 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than the UK’s annual emissions, which are the 17th-biggest in the world.
Methane emissions have surged alarmingly since 2007 and this acceleration may be the ... Read more
