A recent study from researchers at Princeton University and Colorado State University has found inaccuracies within the current method for estimating methane emissions from offshore oil and gas production in the UK.
As a result, as much as five times more methane is being leaked from oil and gas production than currently reported, the researchers said.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas providing more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide within the first 20 years of it reaching the atmosphere. It is currently estimated to contribute at least a quarter of today’s climate warming.
Currently, countries are obligated to report their greenhouse gas emissions to international bodies such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
However, the study suggested the methods used to make these calculations rely on outdated and incomplete information and may not accurately represent actual emissions.
The researchers reached this...