2024-10-08 14:50:23
The conference started in Baku “Progress on Methane: Progress on Global Methane Reduction (AGMR)” within Baku Climate Action WeekDay.Az reported on Thursday.
Among the speakers is the Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Umaira TagievaVice President of SOCAR Afgan IsaevBP Vice President for the Caspian Region Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyliinternational and Azerbaijani experts, representatives of international organizations.
Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Umaira Tagiyeva noted that methane emissions are one of the most powerful factors in air and environmental pollution, which over the past 20 years has exceeded carbon dioxide by more than 80 times.
According to her, the countries of the world have united to ensure that by 2030, methane emissions as industrial waste are reduced by 30-35 percent.
“A separate day at COP29 will be dedicated to the topic of methane,” Tagiyeva emphasized.
She also mentioned that the issue of climate change is a priority for Azerbaijan, and the country is following this agenda at all levels.
Bp Vice President for the Caspian region Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli said that bp and SOCAR are working together on technologies and reporting on methane emissions.
According to him, BP has been actively using new sensors and drones since 2024 to monitor possible methane emissions at its facilities at sea and onshore in Azerbaijan and will continue to work in this direction.
Aslanbeyli also emphasized that productive cooperation with SOCAR on green energy transition issues brings positive results.
SOCAR Vice President Afgan Isaev, in turn, noted that SOCAR plans to use artificial intelligence more to track methane emissions, process data and manage the process of reducing methane emissions.
He noted that the company regularly measures emissions in order to optimize the decarbonization process.
“We are studying satellite images to detect methane leaks. We have also started using measurement methods on the ground, involving professional companies. Together with them, we are developing an artificial intelligence tool that will help us optimize our fight against methane emissions,” he said.
Isaev recalled that in December 2023, SOCAR joined the international charter on decarbonization, which involves phased decarbonization – 2030, 2035 and 2050, with zero greenhouse gas emissions expected in 2050.
“For methane, we can already reach 0.2 percent of emissions intensity in 2035, and we are actively working towards this result,” he emphasized.
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Chief Scientist Professor Stephen Hamburg stressed that methane is responsible for about 30% of man-made global warming, and if we can quickly reduce methane emissions, the world will become much cleaner over the next few decades.
According to him, the duration of methane’s presence in the atmosphere is relatively short, but it causes great harm to nature, and therefore the fight against its emissions is as important as the fight against CO2 emissions.
“If we do not implement climate reforms now and do not step up actions to reduce methane emissions, the consequences will be severe. Inaction may lead to humanity reaching acceptable levels of methane emissions only by 2100, but delay is not acceptable and active measures are needed.” , noted Hamburg.
The positive is that methane is removed faster than CO2, he said.
As Anna Corre, a professor at Imperial College London, said, reducing methane emissions should be a priority for the global community.
“Methane is responsible for about 31% of global warming. Rapid and continuous reduction of emissions of this gas can be an important tool to prevent short-term temperature increases and improve air quality,” emphasized A. Corre.
She also mentioned that we should monitor the situation in all industries that have large methane emissions and try to take proactive measures.
Note that the greenhouse effect from methane emissions is 28-30 times stronger than from carbon dioxide. The main sources of methane emissions are the oil and gas and agricultural industries. During the upcoming COP29 in Baku, a declaration on methane will be adopted.
Azerbaijan also initiated the adoption of a document to reduce organic methane emissions.