Abuja — The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has said that efforts by the government as well as oil and gas companies to plug the leakage of methane emissions, had shielded the equivalent of removing 400,000 vehicles from roads nationwide.
A statement by the UNEP from the ongoing Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, said the deployment of a high-tech system that identifies major methane leaks had delivered 1,200 notifications to governments and companies over the last two years.
However, it lamented that just 1 per cent of notifications from the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) were responded to according to the new UNEP data.
"In Algeria and Nigeria MARS notifications and engagement led to direct action from the governments and oil and gas companies to address large methane leaks. In the Algerian case, which saw methane leaks take place for years, the annual avoided emissions are equivalent to 500,000 cars being taken off the road.
"In Nigeria case, the six-month leak emitted methane was equivalent to 400,000 cars being driven for a year and was able to be fixed in under two weeks by simply replacing faulty equipment," the report added.
Atmospheric methane is the second biggest driver of anthropogenic global warming after carbon dioxide (CO2) and is over 80 times more powerful than CO2 in the near-term.
According to the report, global methane emissions must be reduced 40-45 per cent by 2030 to achieve cost-effective pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C.
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"To have any chance of getting global warming under control, methane emissions must come down, and come down fast," said UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen.
"We now have a proven system to identify major leaks so they can be quickly stopped - often with simple repairs. We are quite literally talking about screwing bolts tighter in some cases," Anderson added.
Anderson stressed that governments and oil and gas companies must stop paying lip-service to this challenge when answers are staring them in the face.
"Instead, they should recognise the significant opportunity this presents and start responding to alerts by plugging leaks that are spewing climate-warming methane into the atmosphere. The tools are ready, the targets are set - now it is time to act," he said.
On his part, Director General, Nigeria Council on Climate Change, Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, said: "For Nigeria, acting on methane emissions is not just about climate responsibility, but also about local health and sustainable development.
"Nigeria is proud to partner with UNEP's IMEO and the European Commission on scientific research to measure emissions across sectors and enable methane action in Nigeria."
"We are committed to using these insights to further our emissions reduction goals and fulfil our commitment as a Global Methane Pledge Champion," Maduekwe said.
