Approach and methodology

The UN Environment Programme's International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) brings together policy-relevant, transparent, reliable methane emission data from various data sources and across multiple sectors.

Source: Rollmo

Through rigorous data quality assurance processes and transparent reporting of sources and methodologies, IMEO strives to build strong confidence in the integrity and utility of measurement-based data.

But access to data is not enough. To enable effective methane reduction, IMEO focuses on increasing the agency of the individuals directly responsible for reducing or eliminating emission sources. It does so by providing thought leadership on integrating methane data and publishes practical outputs for operators, regulators, and other stakeholders to guide targeted action.

Towards data integration

IMEO collects and integrates data through rigorous industry reporting via the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0), from satellites via the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), from its series of global methane science studies, and from national emissions inventories.

As a first step, IMEO brings together these main data streams into the Eye on Methane data platform and pulls them together in a single database for further analysis and to produce new data products in the future. As the coverage and precision of these data grow over time, so will transparency. In the oil and gas sector, data integration is expected to translate into the Methane Supply Index, which will allow gas buyers to compare the methane content of different supply sources and make informed choices.

Methodologies

The Eye on Methane data platform combines data from three main streams, each of them with a different methodology for selecting, collecting, verifying, integrating and sharing results. The table below summarizes the methodology used and links to further, more technical information, where available.

	MARS Methane Alert and Response System	OGMP 2.0 Oil and Gas Methane Partnership	SCIENCE STUDIES
DATA SOURCE	MARS draws data from nearly a dozen satellites and space sensors, including the global mapping satellite Sentinel-5P and the high-resolution satellites EnMAP, PRISMA, Sentinel-2, Landsat constellation (from Landsat4 to Landsat9), the EMIT sensor, Sentinel-3, VIIRS sensors, the geostationary satellites GOES and MTG, the newly launched MethaneSAT and Carbon Mapper’s Tanager-1.	OGMP 2.0 member companies provide methane emission data to IMEO. The reporting progressively covers all material methane emissions sources from operated and non-operated assets across all segments of the value chain.	Science studies gather data to: (1) integrate and reconcile multi-scale empirical data; (2) characterize, assess and validate measurement-based approaches; (3) conduct data assurance and characterize regions or sources with high uncertainty or discrepancies in the integrated data; and (4) support the understanding and development of national emissions inventories and mitigation action.
DATA COLLECTION	Data is collected daily and analysed by experts with the support of an IMEO artificial intelligence (AI) tool.	Data is collected yearly through reports that OGMP 2.0 companies send to IMEO.	Data collected several times a year for science studies may come from: satellites, ships, airplanes, drones, ground-level measurements, towers, or desktop review.
DATA QUALITY ASSURANCE	IMEO experts analyse and validate every detected plume and provide an estimate of emissions with its uncertainty range based on satellite measurements and wind reanalysis data products.	Data assurance involves four steps: Data consistency through a review of every reported emission to assess whether the data are in line with measurement-based reporting from similar sources or assets. Identification of data patterns using advanced statistical methods. Integration with independent data, such as next generation satellites and science study results. Commercial third-party verification can be pursued based on OGMP 2.0 reported data, however, this is not a service that IMEO provides.	Data collected for science studies come from direct measurements obtained in-situ by IMEO’s science partners. Peer-reviewed.

Subscribe to news and updates

Explore Eye on Methane

Estimated / Measured

In the context of the Eye on Methane data platform, we refer to measured and estimated data as follows.

Measured refers to methane emissions data obtained directly through observational or experimental methods, grounded in empirical evidence. These values are derived from actual measurements using instruments, sensors, or other direct methods.
Estimated refers to data derived from models, assumptions, or calculations based on generic emissions factors.