COP28 | Dubai, UAE | November — December 2023
Methane Monitoring at COP28: The Beginning of the End of the Fossil Fuel Era
Methane monitoring at COP28 arrived at a moment unlike any previous COP. Nearly 200 countries gathered in Dubai for the first Global stocktake—a worldwide inventory of collective progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement. The conclusion was unequivocal: the world was off track, and the window for course correction was narrowing. Against that backdrop, GHGSat launched the world’s first commercial CO₂ sensor in orbit, signed a landmark partnership with ADNOC and Yahsat, and contributed emissions data to the conversations that produced the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter.
What COP28 methane monitoring reveal
COP28 closed with an agreement signalling the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era, laying the groundwork for a swift and equitable transition underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance. Around 85,000 participants attended, including more than 150 heads of state and government
The first Global Stocktake confirmed that progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions was too slow across all sectors. 50 oil and gas companies representing more than 40% of global oil production signed the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, committing to net-zero operations by 2050, near-zero upstream methane emissions by 2030, and the end of routine flaring by 2030.
The data underpinning those commitments—at the facility level, from space—is what GHGSat brought to Dubai. By the end of 2023, GHGSat satellites had delivered 2 million facility measurements and detected 179 MtCO₂e of methane emissions in 2022 alone, equivalent to the annual emissions from 38.6 million cars.
GHGSat at COP28: Announcements and activity
The world’s first commercial CO₂ sensor in orbit
GHGSat launched GHGSat-C10, known as Vanguard—the world’s first satellite capable of pinpointing carbon dioxide emissions in high resolution from individual industrial sites, including steel mills, power plants, and petrochemical complexes. Vanguard represented a new generation of space instruments building on GHGSat’s methane-monitoring expertise to deliver frequent, accurate, independent CO₂ data from hard-to-abate industries.
ParADNOC and Yahsat partnership—a COP28 Lighthouse Project.
GHGSat signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Yahsat during the Canada-UAE Future Energy Forum in Dubai. The partnership was selected by the COP28 Energy Transition team as a lighthouse project due to its ambitious scope and potential to reduce climate change. The three organizations committed to deploying new monitoring systems and establishing a Centre of Excellence for methane mitigation, with national oil companies across MENA, Central Asia, and beyond able to leverage the program
New projects announced: landfill emissions monitoring from space
GHGSat announced new projects using satellite data to cut landfill emissions, expanding its monitoring capabilities into the waste sector at scale.
Target: every industrial site, every day
GHGSat announced its ambition to measure greenhouse gas emissions at every industrial site worldwide, every day, a commitment to building the monitoring infrastructure that voluntary and regulatory methane pledges depend on.
GHGSat at COP28 panels and discussions
Space4Climate Interactive Display — UK Pavilion, Blue Zone
GHGSat’s high-resolution satellite data was featured at the Space4Climate event in the Blue Zone, giving attendees direct access to facility-level methane observations from around the world.
Monitoring Waste Management Emissions Worldwide — Pavillon de la Francophonie, Blue Zone
Jean-François Gauthier, VP Strategy, presented satellite data, monitoring initiatives, and operational opportunities for the waste sector.
- Date: December 6, 2023
- Time: 13:30 GST (UTC +4)
- Location: Pavillon de la Francophonie, Blue Zone
What COP28 produced for the methane monitoring sector
The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter committed signatories to near-zero upstream methane emissions by 2030 and called for increasing transparency through enhanced measurement, monitoring, reporting, and independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions. For satellite methane monitoring, that language translated directly into demand: operators who signed the Charter needed the measurement infrastructure to prove compliance.
The Global Stocktake confirmed that countries needed to accelerate action across all areas by 2030. With the ambition set and the accountability framework in place, the role of independent, facility-level satellite data became more central for regulators, investors, and governments building national inventories.
COP28 also marked the moment GHGSat moved beyond methane. The launch of Vanguard signalled that the same high-resolution, facility-level approach that transformed methane monitoring from space was now being applied to carbon dioxide—the harder, larger problem that the energy transition depends on solving.
Methane snapshot 2023: The data behind COP28
GHGSat’s Methane Snapshot Report for COP28 provides a data-driven view of global methane emissions since COP27. It covers the scale of emissions detected, the sectors responsible, and the economic cost of unmitigated methane across key regions.
FAQ
Why is methane important for climate action?
Methane traps more than 80 times the heat of CO₂ over a 20-year period. It is the second largest contributor to global warming but dissipates from the atmosphere much faster than carbon dioxide. Near-term reductions deliver measurable climate benefits within years, making methane the most time-efficient lever available.
What is the Global Methane Pledge?
The Global Methane Pledge is a voluntary international commitment, signed by more than 150 countries, to collectively reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. It was launched at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 and remains the primary international framework for coordinated methane action.
How can satellites support the Global Methane Pledge?
Satellites provide independent, facility-level methane measurements at daily frequency across large areas. They identify emission sources that ground-based methods and self-reported data miss, and they provide the verifiable records that national inventories and international accountability frameworks require.
What is the IMEO?
The International Methane Emissions Observatory is a UNEP-led initiative that integrates satellite data from multiple providers to monitor methane emissions globally and engage operators and governments on identified emissions. GHGSat has contributed data to the IMEO since 2020.
What did GHGSat announce at COP28?
GHGSat launched the world’s first commercial CO₂ sensor in orbit, signed a Lighthouse Project partnership with ADNOC and Yahsat to monitor methane across MENA energy operations, and announced new landfill emissions monitoring initiatives from space. The company also stated its ambition to monitor every industrial site worldwide on a daily basis.
