The United Nations is using artificial intelligence to more quickly identify emissions of a potent climate pollutant and alert governments and companies to act on them.
In the past two years, AI models have reviewed a host of new satellite data and flagged between 80 and 85 percent of methane releases for potential patching, according to a new report by the U.N. Environment Programme, which launched a Methane Alert and Response System in 2024.
That system has detected leaks that have released roughly 1.2 million metric tons of methane before being addressed — equivalent to the annual planet-warming pollution produced by 24 million cars. It’s one way of showing how AI can help mitigate the drivers of climate change, the report says.
“As new satellite missions increase the volume of methane data available worldwide, the challenge is no longer finding emissions but acting on them,” Martin Krause, director of UNEP’s Climate Change Division, said in a statement. “AI can help bridge that gap, enabling faster identification of major methane releases and helping convert data into measurable emissions reductions.”
