REUTERS/Mike Blake//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A United Nations-led effort to use space satellites to detect methane leaks from fossil fuel infrastructure has alerted governments to 127 major methane plumes across four continents since its launch at the start of this year. Environment Programme's (UNEP) Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was created to support a 2021 global pledge by more than 150 countries to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. "Every kilogram of methane matters, but what we can see from our satellites is only the most outrageous of those emissions," said Manfredi Caltagirone, head of UNEP's International Methane Emissions Observatory. While satellites picked up more than 127 major plumes in 2023, some appeared short-lived and therefore too hard to trace, he said. Super-emitting events such as these are responsible for between 8% and 12% of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

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Persons: Mike Blake, Manfredi Caltagirone, Caltagirone, Gloria Dickie, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Programme's, UNEP, MARS, Thomson Locations: Pixley , California, U.S, Argentina, Dubai