Sweden's Climate Pollution on the Rise: The Impact of the Nord Stream Pipeline Leak
The Nord Stream pipeline leak caused a significant surge of 7% in Sweden's annual plant-heating emissions, as reported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Last year, the major gas leak from the sabotaged Nord Stream pipeline caused a 7% increase in Sweden's annual plant-heating emissions, according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's report on Thursday.
The agency's estimates indicate that the majority of the 2022 leak occurred within Denmark's economic zone, with a substantial 5.8 million tons of climate pollution being spilled within Sweden's territory.
If the Nord Stream leak had not occurred, Sweden's climate emissions would have decreased by 5% from 2021 levels.
The leaked pollution consisted of methane, the primary component of fossil-fuel gas used for heating and cooking, which has over 80 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide in the short-term. This gas can escape into the atmosphere from sources such as landfills, livestock, and the oil and gas industry, especially through pipeline leaks.
Participants attend day six at dusk of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 5.
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In September 2022, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which transported methane gas from Russia to Germany, were intentionally sabotaged, escalating tensions in the ongoing energy conflict between Europe and Russia. Following Russia's suspension of gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 during its invasion of Ukraine, officials have not identified the culprit responsible for the sabotage.
The UN Environment Programme detected a substantial plume of concentrated methane on satellite imagery at the time of the sabotage, and later confirmed that the ruptures likely resulted in the largest single release of methane ever recorded.
Reducing methane emissions took center stage at the beginning of the recent UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai. Scientists have emphasized that reducing methane is the most effective and efficient way to alter the course of increasing global temperatures in the near future, attributing this to its significant warming impact.
