A study from one of Canada's premiere climate labs says methane emissions from Alberta's natural gas industry are underestimated by almost 50 per cent. Flares burn off methane and other hydrocarbons at an oil and gas facility in Lenorah, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-David Goldman
A study from one of Canada’s premiere climate labs says methane emissions from Alberta’s energy industry are underestimated by almost 50 per cent.
The study from Carleton University’s Energy and Emissions Research Lab also says oil and gas produced in the province emits significantly more methane for the energy produced than jurisdictions such as British Columbia.
Methane is a greenhouse gas considered to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after its release.
The findings come as the federal government prepares regulations to control the amount of the gas released into the atmosphere.
Alberta’s energy regulator used industry figures to determine that methane emissions in the province have nearly halved since 2014.
But the study’s lead author, Matt Johnson, says that calculation doesn’t mean much if the baseline figure is wrong.
The lab’s findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2023.
