On Monday, March 4, a SpaceX rocket launched from California. One of the items aboard was a satellite developed by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency. The $88 million, washing machine-sized satellite, called MethaneSAT, will be the first to provide an almost total global view of methane leaks in the oil and gas sector. And the data will be publicly available.
The goal is to make it easier to quickly identify leaks and hold those responsible accountable. Methane is responsible for 30 percent of the global heating behind the growing climate crisis, and leaks are a significant source of methane pollution. Unfortunately, they can too often go unnoticed, even though they’re typically fairly easy to fix.
“MethaneSAT is a tool for accountability. I’m sure many people think this could be used to name and shame companies who are poor emissions performers, and that’s true. But [it] can [also] help document progress that leading companies are making in reducing their emissions,” said Mark Brownstein, senior vice president of EDF. Added Kelly Levin, chief of science at the Bezos Earth Fund: “From the sky, MethaneSAT can see what others can’t, helping good actors and holding bad actors accountable.”
