GHGSat, the world leader in emissions-monitoring technology, has begun a new collaboration with the UK (England) Environment Agency. Under this partnership, GHGSat will leverage its aircraft-based sensor to measure methane emissions across industrial sites in England, helping to support the development of a data-driven framework to reduce emissions. As a first-of-its-kind pilot in the United Kingdom, the project will also support key learnings for future emissions-monitoring strategy.
Because methane has a warming effect roughly 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, reducing its levels in the atmosphere can have a swift impact on the climate. Reducing methane emissions is recognized as one of the most immediate and impactful ways to slow planetary warming.
For government agencies around the world, the ability to accurately measure methane emissions is a critical tool to measure progress towards sustainability goals, inform policy development, and support cost-effective mitigation strategy. The United Kingdom has maintained significant focus on methane reduction since becoming a founding signatory of the Global Methane Pledge, developing initiatives such as the Environment Agency Methane Action Plan for England, the UK Methane Memorandum, and the Offshore Energies UK Methane Action Plan, which outline efforts to secure emissions reductions through 2050.
Founded in 2011, GHGSat’s emissions-monitoring technologies are purpose-built to provide actionable information on greenhouse gas emissions to governments and operators around the world. GHGSat’s aerial sensors leverage advanced hyperspectral imaging to pinpoint the exact source of methane emissions, detecting leaks at thresholds approaching 5 kg/hr from individual pieces of industrial equipment—critical for targeted asset-level surveys and rapid response missions for swift mitigation.
“This partnership will allow the Environment Agency to integrate accurate, independently verified methane data into its planning processes,” said Dan Wicks, Managing Director, UK at GHGSat. “Moving from estimates to direct measurements is a major step forward for environmental monitoring in the UK. We’re proud to contribute to this work, which can drive tangible impacts on emissions reduction.”
The agreement builds on GHGSat’s growing portfolio of government collaborations in the UK and Europe. Under the InCubed 2 programme, GHGSat is building an advanced analytics service specifically tailored for UK and European government applications. The new service will integrate GHGSat’s proprietary methane data with AI-powered analytics and user-friendly delivery tools, providing public-sector partners with timely insights.
GHGSat is also a member of the European Space Agency’s Third Party Missions programme, which enables access to GHGSat high-resolution satellite data for scientific and government researchers. The company has been designated as a Copernicus Contributing Mission, delivering satellite methane data to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) to support its mission to provide consistent and accurate information related to global air pollution and greenhouse gases.
GHGSat’s UK office, based in London, continues to rapidly expand, fueled by increasing demand from financial institutions, industrial operators, and government agencies for precise emissions data at global scale. Today, GHGSat monitors millions of industrial facilities annually, revisiting sites at an unmatched daily rate to provide the most comprehensive global emissions coverage in the market.
