This small satellite’s a big deal
for the climate fight

While fixing leaks in gas pipes and other equipment might seem like a small thing, there are millions upon millions of leaks across the globe — and those small leaks add up to a big problem. They speed up global warming.

That’s because methane pollution released this year will warm the planet more in the next decade than carbon dioxide emitted from burning fossil fuels. Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas, and emissions are increasing.

While cutting methane is the single fastest way to slow the rate of global warming, current efforts fall far short of the drastic reductions we need.

MethaneSAT is a better and faster way to track methane

Enter MethaneSAT, the first satellite developed and funded by any environmental nonprofit organization — Environmental Defense Fund — which we launched into orbit on March 4, 2024.

Here’s why this satellite is such a game-changer:

• MethaneSAT will locate and quantify methane emissions from oil and gas operations almost anywhere on Earth, and track progress over time.
• It will offer greater sensitivity than any other satellite, enabling high-precision tracking of emissions that others can’t see.
• It will fill a crucial gap among existing and planned detection technologies, offering precise measurements on a global scale.
• The free data it gathers will enable both companies and countries to identify, manage and reduce their emissions, and allow investors, gas buyers and the public to see and compare results.

Help us slow global warming fast with MethaneSAT

EDF’s work bringing methane to the world’s attention — and campaigning to slash methane emissions for over a decade — puts us on track to reach our goal of reducing oil and gas methane emissions by 45% by 2030.

That’s the same near-term climate benefit as closing one-third of all the coal plants in the world. MethaneSAT will help us get there.

So before you think that the climate crisis is too big to solve, think about all those little leaks and the big difference fixing them will make for people and the planet.

Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will require plenty of innovative climate tech like MethaneSAT, and EDF is leading the way.