Satellite monitoring is transforming the global effort to reduce methane leaks, making major emissions from oil and gas infrastructure increasingly difficult to conceal. While some countries are responding to international alerts and repairing major sources, progress remains uneven. Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and several Latin American countries have begun addressing detected leaks, while other major methane emitters have shown little response.
Methane is a particularly important target for climate action because reducing it can slow warming relatively quickly. Over a 20-year period, methane can trap around 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide and has contributed roughly 30% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel production accounts for about one-third of human-caused methane emissions. Despite growing attention, emissions from oil, gas and coal operations remain above 120 million tonnes annually.
The Global Methane Pledge, launched at COP26 in 2021, aims to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. It has been signed by 159 countries representing approximately 45% of human-caused methane emissions. However, measuring progress is challenging because reported emissions frequently differ substantially from observations. The International Energy Agency estimates that global energy-related methane emissions are around 80% higher than the amounts countries report to the UN climate system.
Satellites are helping close this information gap. The UN’s Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) identifies major methane leaks and sends alerts to governments so operators can investigate and repair them. This approach is particularly valuable in regions where measurement-based reporting remains limited.
Turkmenistan illustrates both the scale of the problem and the potential for improvement. The country has historically been one of the world’s largest sources of methane super-emissions, with enormous leaks originating from pipelines, wells, valves and malfunctioning flares. Over the past year, MARS delivered 192 methane-plume alerts to Turkmenistan. The country has now stopped eight significant leaks by repairing corroded pipelines, faulty wells and failing flares. It has also improved reporting and responded with information to around 20% of alerts.
Other countries are taking similar action. Kazakhstan has stopped eight leaks following satellite alerts, while Mexico, Brazil and Argentina have achieved 100% response rates to MARS notifications. Libya and Azerbaijan have also demonstrated relatively high response rates. However, responding to an alert does not necessarily mean the underlying leak has been repaired. Mexico, for example, responded to alerts concerning a massive offshore leak measured at 37 tonnes of methane per hour, but the leak had not yet been fixed.
Meanwhile, the United States received 138 alerts without responding to MARS, while Iran, Russia and China also recorded no responses to alerts in the information presented.
The expanding use of satellites demonstrates that identifying methane leaks is becoming easier. The greater challenge is converting detection into rapid repairs. Because many leaks result from faulty equipment, abandoned infrastructure or operational problems, addressing major methane sources could provide one of the fastest opportunities available to reduce near-term global warming.