Accurate methane emissions monitoring is essential for identifying emission sources, developing effective mitigation measures, and supporting the transition to a more sustainable energy sector. For Uzbekistan, a major oil and gas producer and a key gas transit hub in Central Asia, reducing methane emissions presents an opportunity to address climate change while improving energy efficiency and strengthening energy security.
In this video interview, Hanling Yang, Associate Vice President of Energy Transition at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), discusses the role of methane mitigation in slowing near-term global warming and the potential of satellite technology to improve emissions monitoring. She also highlights the importance of robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, harmonized methodologies, effective government policies, and international cooperation in advancing methane reduction efforts in Uzbekistan and across Central Asia.
Interview Transcript
— How can methane emissions monitoring contribute to Uzbekistan’s development in a global context? Why is it becoming increasingly important for the country?
We are living in a region where countries in the Global South face significant challenges in achieving a sustainable energy transition. Regions like Central Asia are also bearing the brunt of climate change, facing natural disasters, water-related challenges, and droughts. Methane mitigation is one of the most readily available and cost-effective measures for reducing near-term warming while also saving energy, because methane is a primary component of natural gas.
Let me first explain why methane matters. Methane is a powerful, short-lived climate pollutant. Over a 20-year period, methane has more than 80 times the global warming potential of CO₂.
Globally, much of the attention in the past has focused on reducing CO₂ emissions. However, as global warming intensifies and the risk of exceeding the 1.5°C temperature threshold increases, more attention is being directed towards identifying readily available, cost-effective measures that can help slow near-term warming. That is why methane mitigation has become a key part of the climate agenda.
Reducing methane emissions from the energy sector brings benefits beyond climate mitigation. It helps improve energy security and energy resilience, while also putting countries on the right path towards long-term decarbonization.
The oil and gas industry is a key pillar of Uzbekistan’s economy and the economies of several other Central Asian countries. Compared with other sectors, such as agriculture and waste management, the oil and gas industry offers some of the most immediate and cost-effective opportunities to reduce methane emissions. Countries like Uzbekistan, which has substantial oil and gas production and serves as a major transit hub for gas exports to other countries, can play a leading role in advancing methane mitigation across the region.
— How can methane emissions monitoring contribute to Uzbekistan’s green transition?
Methane emissions monitoring is extremely important. As environmental professionals, we often say that you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Methane is naturally odorless and invisible to the naked eye.
We need specialized instruments, such as optical gas imaging cameras, to identify methane leaks. Monitoring, detection, and quantification are essential for determining where emissions come from, how they change over time, and what can be done to address them. They also help us assess how effectively countries, companies, and the international community are reducing methane emissions.
Uzbekistan has joined the Global Methane Pledge and is taking a leading role in Central Asia in developing policies and deploying advanced technologies to monitor methane emissions, particularly in the oil and gas sector. Satellite technology has significant potential in this regard. Many companies have started exploring advanced technologies, including satellites, to identify opportunities for methane mitigation.
Currently, we can distinguish three types of satellite monitoring systems. The first type consists of global mappers, which provide broad coverage and can survey oil and gas production around the world relatively quickly. Some can do so in a single day.
However, global mappers have relatively coarse resolution, which limits their ability to identify individual emission sources or distinguish specific sources within broader regional emission patterns.
The second type consists of point-source satellites. Many of the satellites currently in operation fall into this category. They are effective at identifying super-emitters in specific locations and quantifying their emissions. However, they cannot provide a comprehensive picture of emission profiles at the regional or national level. These are important questions we need to answer to develop sound policies and determine how best to mitigate emissions from different sources.
The third type consists of area mappers. EDF’s MethaneSAT was designed to fill the gap between global mappers and point-source satellites. By combining different types of satellite technology, we can develop a much more comprehensive understanding of global methane emissions, including those across Central Asia.
Central Asia is a major oil and gas-producing region, and there are many opportunities for countries and companies to work together. In Uzbekistan, the national oil and gas company, Uzbekneftegaz, has joined the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, committing to achieving near-zero methane emissions intensity by 2030.
Companies have therefore been taking an active role in methane mitigation. However, governments also have an important role to play, because voluntary action is only part of the picture. Stronger government policies and oversight can help deliver much greater progress.
Of course, we talk a lot about monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), but the ultimate goal is not simply to collect data. You can obtain highly accurate data, but if you do not use it to guide mitigation actions, that data will have limited practical value.
We need to strengthen our MRV capacity, collect more accurate and comprehensive data, and put that data to effective use in reducing methane emissions. This will also help reduce gas losses, keep more gas in the pipeline, minimize energy waste, and slow near-term warming.
As more countries, particularly in Central Asia, work to improve their MRV systems and methodologies for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane, there is a need to establish international standards or, at a minimum, harmonize existing methodologies. This would enable meaningful comparisons between data generated using different approaches.
Uzbekistan and the wider Central Asian region can play an important role in this process. The methodologies that experts in Uzbekistan are developing with support from the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC), in collaboration with the international community, could serve as useful references for other regions.
As Central Asia increasingly becomes both an energy supplier and a growing energy consumer, it will be important for the region, and Uzbekistan in particular, to play an active role in international cooperation and dialogue.
By Zhanna Khusainova, PR Expert/Consultant, Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC)
For further information:
Dilovarsho Dustzoda — Project Manager (recath_manager@carececo.org)
Arailym Shulgauova — Project Specialist (ashulgauova@carececo.org)