The role(s) of remote sensing in reducing methane emissions

Success in achieving the methane emission reduction targets of industry, national and subnational governments, the Paris agreement, and Global Methane Pledge will critically depend on access to emissions data that is actionable, complete and trustworthy. Despite recent improvements, current methane monitoring systems are still limited in their ability to offer timely delivery of precise, quantitative, and reproduceable emissions data to facility operators, regulators, front-line communities and other stakeholders. There are multiple use-cases for accelerating data-enabled methane mitigation including but not limited to leak detection and repair programs, diagnostics to guide process emission reductions and infrastructure model improvements, emissions trending, and supply-chain methane intensity certification. Each use-case translates to specific requirements on methane data products and the observational and analytic frameworks that deliver them. Meanwhile, a nascent global system of systems for operational methane emissions monitoring is emerging that offers the potential to synergistically combine observations from multiple sensor types, vantage points, and quantification methods.  Additionally, new programs offering improved data access, transparency, independent validation, 3^rd party reporting, and user capacity-building are also gaining traction.

Remote sensing offers unique contributions to the expanding methane tiered observing system. Satellites in particular can complement continuous data from surface sensors at selected facilities and periodic regional airborne surveys by providing dense and sustained sampling of diverse jurisdictions globally without being constrained by access restrictions. We discuss use-cases for regional- to facility-scale monitoring and challenges in scaling up methane remote sensing systems for sustained operational decision support. We also present pilot studies involving collaborative data sharing between researchers, regulators and facility operators that resulted in measurable and verifiable emission reductions.