Methane Guiding Principles congratulates its supporting organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) on the successful launch of MethaneSAT, a satellite which will track methane emissions on an unprecedented scale. The publicly available data that MethaneSAT collects will enable newfound visibility over global emissions. MGP looks forward to collaborating with its member organizations to leverage this step-change in emissions measurement.
MethaneSAT will monitor 300 targets around the world, accounting for 80% of global oil and gas production. According to the official EDF press release, “circling the Earth 15 times a day, MethaneSAT will measure changes in methane concentrations as small as three parts per billion. High sensitivity together with high resolution and a wide field of view will enable MethaneSAT to see the whole emissions picture.”
Interested parties will be able to view MethaneSAT’s data on two free public portals, www.MethaneSAT.org and Google Earth Engine, starting later this year. The project, which was first announced in 2018, was sponsored by EDF donors and the government of New Zealand.
Emissions measurement, at both macro- and micro-levels, is a key pillar of MGP. One of MGP’s focus areas is to improve methane emissions data accuracy, so we celebrate EDF’s initiative and the awareness it’s bringing to the importance of global action towards methane reduction.
Image source: MethaneSAT
