Turkmenistan: One of the world’s worst emitters of planet-warming methane

Turkmenistan's methane emissions are becoming a significant concern for the rest of the planet.

Methane, which is colourless and odourless, is the most abundant component of natural gas and may leak in massive quantities from energy plants whose management does not care to stop it.

That does not appear to be the case in the huge, sparsely inhabited nation.

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Turkmenistan accounted for 31 of the 50 most severe methane emissions at onshore oil and gas activities studied by monitoring firm Kayrros SAS during 2019.

While shorter-lived and less common than carbon dioxide, methane is far more effective at trapping heat, making its short-term global warming impact more than 80 times higher.

Human activities account for around 60% of global methane emissions, with agriculture, waste disposal, and fossil fuel production accounting for the majority.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, human-caused methane is responsible for at least 25% of today's global warming.

Stopping such emissions, according to the United Nations Environmental Programme's latest Global Methane Assessment, is the best option for quickly slowing global warming.

Methane-hunting satellites have made a number of other worrying finds in the last year.

Among them: despite the pandemic, methane emissions from Russian oil and gas activities increased by 32% in 2020.

Satellites also detected significant emissions from a dump in Bangladesh, a natural gas field in Canada, and coal mines in the US Appalachian Basin.

(With inputs from agencies)