Better methane accounting will mean a faster and cheaper energy transition
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian, Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler and Responsible Gas Program Manager Simon Lomax write about how the push for the oil and gas industry to reduce its methane emissions is on. Methane, the major component of natural gas, is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe. In the U.S., the oil and gas industry is the second largest contributor of methane emissions after agriculture. According to the International Energy Agency, the energy sector globally was responsible for 135 million metric tons of methane emissions in 2022 2022 — an increase from the year before. February 22, 2023.