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The report highlights the critical role of methane mitigation in Nigeria's oil and gas sector, noting that methane has over 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over 20 years. It details Nigeria's commitment to the Global Methane Pledge and its specific target to reduce oil and gas methane emissions by 61% in its updated NDC. The document identifies key tools like the Nigerian Gas Flare Tracker and the prototype Satellite-based Methane Emission Tracker as essential for measurement and verification. However, it warns that inadequate curbing of gas flaring and new EU regulations on fossil fuel imports by 2030 pose significant risks to Nigeria's LNG exports and economic stability. The authors advocate for enhanced leak detection and repair (LDAR) technologies, robust regulatory enforcement, and international collaboration to meet the national goal of ending gas flaring by 2030.

The report analyzes seven categories of enclosure-based and open measurement methods for greenhouse gas emissions in sanitation systems. It finds that while enclosure-based methods like flux chambers are widely used, they are limited by scale. Emerging optical and remote sensing methods offer broader coverage but are constrained by high costs. The document highlights a critical lack of empirical data for non-sewered sanitation in low- and middle-income countries and advocates for standardized, affordable methodologies and increased collaboration to improve national greenhouse gas inventories.

The document outlines a framework for the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, specifically focusing on land use activities such as crop production, cattle, and forestry. It argues for the need for harmonized, technical, and verifiable criteria to direct financial flows toward sustainable production and prevent greenwashing. The report proposes a phased implementation approach, suggests a three-tier verification system (automatic, remote, and on-site), and highlights the importance of interoperability with international standards. It also identifies critical challenges, such as defining the scope of the 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) principle and determining the appropriate level of granularity for classification (economic activity versus rural property).

The document outlines strategies for reducing methane emissions from US municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, emphasizing the transition from traditional manual surface emissions monitoring (SEM) to advanced technologies like satellites, aircraft, drones, and fixed sensors. It provides a six-step framework for monitoring-informed mitigation: selecting a system, deploying it, pinpointing sources, identifying root causes, deploying mitigation measures, and verifying reductions. The guide highlights that while organic waste diversion is critical for future emissions, improving waste-in-place controls offers immediate climate benefits.

The document outlines the transition from traditional first-order decay (FOD) models to advanced monitoring technologies, including handheld analyzers, drones, and remote sensing via aircraft and satellites, to better quantify waste-sector methane emissions. It highlights that up to 80% of these emissions can be eliminated with existing technology, often at low or negative costs. The guide also details international efforts such as the Global Methane Pledge and the LOW-Methane Initiative to drive mitigation and investment.

The 2024 Sustainable Agriculture Market Intelligence Report highlights key investment opportunities for the South African agricultural sector to mitigate risks from loadshedding, climate change, and international trade policies. Primary opportunities include solar PV and solar thermal applications, the electrification of machinery (such as electric tractors), and smart farming tools like remote sensing and AI diagnostics. The report emphasizes the Western Cape's role as a green economy hub and provides a comprehensive overview of the climate finance landscape and regulatory frameworks, including the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which may influence future agricultural exports.

Methane is a potent climate pollutant responsible for 30 percent of the earth's temperature rise since the Industrial era. In the oil and gas sector, methane leakage can make natural gas as damaging as coal in the near term, with some US Gulf of Mexico offshore platforms showing leakage rates up to 66 percent. Despite the fact that many leaks can be repaired cost-effectively, the document notes that companies are not moving quickly enough, particularly in the US Permian Basin. The author advocates for mandatory requirements and the expanded use of aerial and satellite detection to increase transparency and enforce standards.

Financial institutions (FIs) can leverage tools like RMI's Oil Climate Index plus Gas (OCI+) and satellite data to pinpoint methane 'hot spots' in oil and gas portfolios. Methane accounts for approximately half of the industry's Scope 1 and 2 emissions, yet emissions intensities vary by a factor of 10 or more between equivalent assets. The report highlights that 40% of needed methane reductions could be achieved through cost-neutral or net-profitable investments, such as leak detection and repair. With new regulations like the US Inflation Reduction Act's methane fee, FIs are encouraged to use this data to manage transition risks, set accurate disclosure targets, and steer client engagement toward immediate decarbonization opportunities.

The policy brief highlights a systemic gap between self-reported methane emissions in the US oil and gas sector and actual emissions measured via remote sensing. It argues that current EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) guidelines rely on simplistic assumptions that miss 'super-emitting' events, leading to underestimations of emissions by factors of two to four. This data gap threatens the efficacy of the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) Waste Emissions Charge, potentially resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost fees. The author calls for the integration of empirical data and updated reporting categories to improve transparency, incentivize mitigation, and ensure accurate pricing of methane emissions.

The guide outlines how state, local, and tribal governments can utilize CPRG funding to reduce methane emissions by implementing upstream organic waste diversion and downstream landfill gas controls. It emphasizes the use of 20-year global warming potential (GWP) for GHG inventories to highlight the urgency of methane action and details specific policy measures, such as organic waste bans and advanced monitoring technology, to achieve rapid emissions reductions and community benefits.

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is currently hindered by subjective data, lack of transparency, and burdensome processes. To realize its potential for climate finance, the market must shift toward objective measurement using digital and satellite technologies, adopt transparent pricing, and establish a consensus on credit quality through improved certification and governance models.

The document describes remote sensing as the process of gathering information from a distance by detecting electromagnetic waves. It distinguishes between active sensing, which transmits signals to measure reflections, and passive sensing, which measures naturally emitted or reflected waves. Remote sensors can be space-based, aerial-based, or ground-based, though Climate TRACE primarily utilizes satellite-based sensors for their global coverage. The effectiveness of satellite remote sensing is determined by spectral resolution (wavelength bands), spatial resolution (pixel detail), and temporal resolution (revisit frequency). Climate TRACE integrates this data with satellite imagery and ground truth data to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from various sources and train AI/ML algorithms.

The report assesses the progress of the Brazilian Forest Code's implementation in 2022, highlighting a heterogeneous landscape where registration (CAR) is advanced but analysis and regularization (PRA) remain significant bottlenecks. While states like São Paulo and Espírito Santo show leadership in analysis, only 2% of national registries have completed analysis. The document identifies critical gaps in the registration of traditional territories and the slow adoption of the PRA, while noting that some states are integrating CAR data with deforestation alerts to enforce compliance.

The briefing outlines potential areas for U.S.-China collaboration on methane reduction following the U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration. Key opportunities include the use of enteric methane inhibitors, improving rice cultivation practices, developing economic cases for anaerobic biodigesters in waste management, and sharing remote sensing data and facility-level monitoring strategies.

The policy brief provides a detailed 'radiography' of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It identifies a significant gap between the initial registration of properties and the final stage of environmental regularization, noting that while registration is consolidated, the analysis of data remains a primary bottleneck. The authors highlight extreme heterogeneity among states, with a few leaders like Mato Grosso and Pará, and others remaining stagnant. The document outlines systemic challenges across individual, institutional, technical-economic, and legal dimensions and recommends a national implementation plan, strengthening of the SICAR system, and better integration with agricultural credit and anti-deforestation policies.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with over 80 times the warming power of CO2 over 20 years, though it breaks down in about 12 years. Approximately 60% of methane emissions result from human activity, primarily agriculture (40%), the energy sector (35%), and waste management (20%). The five largest global emitters are China, the U.S., Russia, India, and Brazil. In the U.S., the energy sector's contribution is estimated by the IEA at 54%, significantly higher than the EPA's 38% due to underreported 'ultra-emitting events'. Reduction strategies include repairing leaks in oil and gas production, capturing biogas from waste and agriculture, and using alternative livestock feed. Measurement is shifting from 'bottom-up' inventories to 'top-down' remote sensing via satellites and aircraft to better identify point sources. The Global Methane Pledge, launched at COP26, aims for a 30% reduction in global methane emissions from 2020 levels by 2030, though several top emitters have not yet joined.

The report identifies methane as a critical target for slowing climate change due to its high warming potential and short atmospheric lifetime. It highlights significant discrepancies between 'bottom-up' government estimates and 'top-down' satellite measurements, particularly in the energy sector. The document details mitigation strategies such as leak detection and repair (LDAR) in oil and gas, alternative livestock feeds, and alternate wetting and drying in rice cultivation. It also emphasizes the role of biogas and food waste reduction as cross-cutting solutions for the agriculture and waste sectors.

ClientEarth recommends that the new EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans explicitly guarantee Aarhus Convention rights, establish a common EU-wide remote sensing data platform, and align with the Nature Restoration Law and Deforestation Regulation to improve forest governance and enforcement.

The voluntary carbon market, valued at $2 billion in 2021, faces significant challenges regarding trust and scarcity relative to global climate needs. RMI proposes three solutions to scale high-quality credits: reducing project development time and costs through upfront capital and technology, differentiating the credit supply via ratings and quality standards, and establishing a transparent data platform to ensure integrity.

ClientEarth argues that the proposed EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans must prioritize the accessibility of remote sensing data and public transparency to combat forestry crime and mismanagement. The document highlights a significant decline in the carbon sequestration capacity of EU forests by 28% between 2013 and 2018 and criticizes the low rate of compliance checks under the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), where 99% of domestically-harvesting companies were excluded from checks between 2015 and 2020. ClientEarth advocates for a common EU-wide platform for real-time data to support risk-based compliance planning and the 'substantiated concerns' mechanism for public reporting of illegal logging.