Nord Stream leaks likely single largest methane release ever: UN

The ruptures on the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline system under the Baltic Sea have led to what is likely the biggest single release of climate-damaging methane ever recorded, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has said.

A huge plume of highly concentrated methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent but shorter-lived than carbon dioxide, was detected in an analysis this week of satellite imagery by researchers associated with the UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, or IMEO, the organization said on Friday.

“This is really bad, most likely the largest emission event ever detected,” Manfredi Caltagirone, head of the IMEO for UNEP, told Reuters.

“This is not helpful in a moment when we absolutely need to reduce emissions.”