Fossil Fuel Production Emits More Methane Than Previously Thought: NOAA

"The exhaustive global study found emissions from oil, gas and coal sites are between 20 and 60 percent higher than many earlier estimates."

"Emissions of planet-heating methane from fossil fuel production are between 20 and 60 percent higher than widely cited estimates, including those used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the science body whose assessments influence climate action around the world.

That is the main finding of a peer-reviewed study published last week in the journal Nature. It is one of the most exhaustive analyses of long-term global methane emissions and methane carbon isotope records, with implications for climate policy worldwide. The two-year study was done by 11 researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado.

The study also found that biological sources—including flatulent cows and rotting landfills—are to blame for the ongoing massive methane spike first detected by NOAA in 2007."

Bob Berwyn reports for InsideClimate News October 11, 2016.