Putting the Nord Stream gas leaks into perspective

The September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline ruptures may represent the largest single methane emitting event ever recorded, with potential losses exceeding 500 kilotonnes of methane. While the exact amount entering the atmosphere is difficult to calculate due to cloud cover, ocean dissolution, and the speed of the event, the climate impact is significant. However, the briefing notes that the oil and gas industry's annual fugitive emissions, flaring, and venting total 82 million tonnes, meaning the industry emits an equivalent amount to the Nord Stream leaks every day. The author argues that up to 85% of these emissions could be cut using existing technology and targeted policy.

• The Nord Stream pipeline ruptures in September 2022 may be the largest single methane emitting event ever recorded, with total gas lost potentially exceeding 500 kilotonnes if all three pipelines lost all their gas.
• The climate impact of the leaks is substantial; if all leaked gas entered the atmosphere, the 20-year impact would equal the annual emissions of nearly 9 million passenger cars.
• Calculating the precise amount of methane that reached the atmosphere is complicated by several factors: the speed of the ruptures, cloudy weather in northern latitudes, the difficulty of satellite observation over oceans, and the potential for methane to be dissolved in water or absorbed by microbes.
• The Nord Stream event is small compared to the oil and gas industry's total annual methane losses of 82 million tonnes from venting, incomplete flaring, and fugitive emissions, which equates to the scale of the Nord Stream leaks occurring every day.
• Up to 85% of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector can be reduced using currently available technology, tightened regulation, and targeted policy.

APA

Binietoglou, I., & Sosa, Z. T. (2022). Putting the Nord Stream gas leaks into perspective. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2022/10/putting-nord-stream-gas-leaks-perspective/

Chicago

Binietoglou, Ioannis, and Zitely Tzompa Sosa. Putting the Nord Stream gas leaks into perspective. Clean Air Task Force, 2022. https://www.catf.us/2022/10/putting-nord-stream-gas-leaks-perspective/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Binietoglou |first1=Ioannis |last2=Sosa |first2=Zitely Tzompa |title=Putting the Nord Stream gas leaks into perspective |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=24 October 2022 |url=https://www.catf.us/2022/10/putting-nord-stream-gas-leaks-perspective/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{binietoglou2022putting, author = {Binietoglou, Ioannis and Sosa, Zitely Tzompa}, title = {{Putting the Nord Stream gas leaks into perspective}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/2022/10/putting-nord-stream-gas-leaks-perspective/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }