Natural Gas
Introduction
Natural gas warms our planet, and produced dangerous chemicals which can build up in our homes, harming our health.Â
Companies often burn off excess gas because it can be more expensive to harvest from drill sites than it would be worth to see. Even when companies do capture it for use, a small percentage leaks at the drill site, then each time it is loaded or offloaded from ships, then again from faulty equipment, including stoves that are turned off. Since the industry has continued to expand this "small percentage" lost at each stage, is turning out to be increasingly alarming as studies find higher rates of loss than the gas industry has been reporting to the public.Â
Old wells often leak, and are costly to plug. Earthquakes, and the mere fact that many orphan wells are hard to find even with historical maps, means that even when these holes are plugged, they can later be damaged, releasing natural gas into the environment again.
Costs of Natural Gas
Air Pollution
Natural gas can build up in basements and homes. If you smell it, report the leak immediately and evacuate the area. Turn off any flames as these can cause an explosion.
Climate Change / Global Warming
Maps
International
The Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker (GGIT) (Interactive)"is an information resource on natural gas transmission pipeline projects and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and export terminals. Currently, GGIT aims to include all LNG terminals regardless of threshold, as well as all global gas transmission pipelines over predetermined size thresholds. An interactive map shows pipeline routes and terminal locations, and tables provide additional data on each project. Both the map and table can be filtered, and more information is provided on project-specific wiki pages housed on GEM.wiki. The sources used during research and data collection are cited in each project’s wiki page. The internal GGIT database and wiki pages are updated continuously throughout the year, and an annual release is published and distributed with data summary tables."
The Global Integrated Power Tracker (GIPT) (Interactive) is a multi-sector dataset of power stations and facilities worldwide. The tracker provides unit-level information on thermal power (coal, oil, gas, nuclear, geothermal, bioenergy) and renewables (solar, wind, hydro). The tracker includes data on unit capacity, status, ownership, fuel type, start year, retirement date, geolocation, and more. Each power facility is linked to a profile page, hosted on GEM.wiki, that provides further information.
Global Energy Monitor’s eight power sector trackers provide the source of underlying data: the Global Coal Plant Tracker, Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker, Global Solar Power Tracker, Global Wind Power Tracker, Global Hydropower Tracker, Global Geothermal Power Tracker, Global Bioenergy Power Tracker, Global Nuclear Power Tracker."
The Global Methane Emitters Tracker (GMET) "provides estimates of fossil fuel emissions at oil and gas and coal extraction sites, natural gas transmission pipelines, proposed projects and reserves, and attribution of remotely-sensed methane plumes.
As of November 2023, the first version of the tracker includes methane emissions estimates for coal extraction and gas pipelines, attributions of remotely-sensed methane plume observations for oil and gas infrastructures in North America, and coal mine observations worldwide. The tracker will expand its remotely-sensed plume attribution coverage in future iterations. GMET also associates assets within GEM’s Oil & Gas Extraction Tracker to the methane emissions estimates developed by Climate TRACE."The Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) (Interactive) "is a global dataset of oil and gas resources and their development. GOGET includes information on discovered, in-development, and operating oil and gas units worldwide, including both conventional and unconventional assets. The dataset tracks the status, ownership, production, and reserves of each unit, as data is available. Units that have production of 1 million boe/yr or more and/or reserves of 25 million boe or more are included. The data is provided in both map and table format. Each unit included in the tracker is linked to a wiki page on GEM.wiki, which provides additional details, including references for the data."
The Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker (GOGPT) (Interactive) "is a worldwide dataset of oil and gas-fired power plants. It includes units with capacities of 50 megawatts (MW) or more (20 MW or more in the European Union and the United Kingdom). For internal combustion units, or those units that have multiple identically sized engines, the 50 MW capacity unit threshold applies to the total capacity of the set of engines. The GOGPT catalogs every oil and gas power plant at this capacity threshold of any status, including operating, announced, pre-construction, construction, shelved, cancelled, mothballed, or retired. Units often consist of a boiler and gas or steam turbines, and several units may make up one power station. The map and underlying data is updated bi-annually, in February and August. Each plant included in the tracker is linked to a wiki page on GEM.wiki, which provides additional details."
The Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker (GOIT) (Interactive) "is an information resource on crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) transmission pipeline projects and their development. Currently, GOIT attempts to include all global crude oil and NGL transmission pipelines of any status, though availability on this infrastructure varies across countries and regions, and some are researched more completely than others. An interactive map shows pipeline routes, and tables allow users to access additional data on each project. Both the map and table can be filtered, and more information is provided on project-specific wiki pages housed on GEM.wiki. The sources used during research and data collection are cited in each project’s wiki page. The internal GOIT database and wiki pages are updated continuously throughout the year, and an annual release is published and distributed with data summary tables."
Africa
The Africa Gas Tracker (Interactive) "provides a comprehensive dataset of gas infrastructure across Africa. The tracker covers gas pipelines, LNG terminals, oil and gas-fired power plants, and gas extraction sites. The map and underlying data are updated every year, and each project has a dedicated wiki page on GEM.wiki that provides extensive detail on the project, such as the project’s status, capacity, and ownership."
Asia
The Asia Gas Tracker (Interactive) "provides a comprehensive dataset of gas infrastructure across East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The tracker covers gas pipelines, LNG terminals, oil and gas-fired power plants, and gas extraction sites. The map and underlying data are updated regularly, and each project has a dedicated wiki page on GEM.wiki that provides extensive detail on the project, such as the project’s status, capacity, and ownership."
Europe
The European Gas Tracker (Interactive) is the world’s top gas importing region, deriving more than 80% of its annual consumption from external sources. The Europe Gas Tracker provides a compilation of GEM’s data on methane and hydrogen gas infrastructure across Europe, within and outside of the EU, as well as a few other countries* within the European gas network such as Türkiye. The Tracker covers methane gas pipelines; LNG terminals; oil, gas-fired power plants; and methane gas extraction sites. The Tracker also covers proposals to convert methane infrastructure to hydrogen usage as well as proposals for brand new hydrogen infrastructure. The map and underlying data are updated regularly, and each project has a dedicated wiki page on GEM.wiki that provides extensive detail on the project, such as the project’s status, capacity, cost and ownership."
North America
USA
LNG Tanker Tracker "A map to explore the LNG Tankers arriving and departing operational LNG export terminals in the U.S."
Organizations
North America
USA
Stop the Money Pipeline "We are a coalition of 230+ organizations working to hold the financial sector accountable for its role in fueling climate chaos and environmental racism.
Join us to help end financing for fossil fuels."The Youth Climate Finance Alliance "is a youth-led and youth-centered network of individual organizers and organizations. Our team’s purpose is to serve as a resource, network, and support system for grassroots youth climate organizations across the so-called US. We facilitate growth through skill development and transformative relationship building which enables local youth leaders to build and wield power against corporate climate villains and end extractive institutions and industries, with a particular emphasis on the financial pipeline to the fossil fuel industry.
We believe in growing the power of grassroots youth organizers and organizations. The young people we work with have immense revolutionary potential and power. With support, guidance, and community, they will radically change the world for the better. We see climate finance as a strategic, targeted pathway to channel the energy of youth climate organizers and target financial institutions that are directly responsible for funding fossil fuel infrastructure and projects, harming communities, our planet, and our future."