Comment on egusphere-2026-2165
Abstract
Abstract. Europe is a global leader in mitigating methane emissions through comprehensive policies, including the EU Methane Strategy and commitments under the Global Methane Pledge. National bottom-up inventories are widely regarded as high quality; however, atmospheric observations remain essential for independent verification and tracking emission reductions. Here, we present a multi-year (2019–2023) top-down assessment of European methane emissions using a Bayesian inversion of satellite observations from TROPOMI and surface measurements from ICOS. Analysis of observational constraints shows that surface measurements provide the dominant information, while satellite observations offer complementary coverage in regions not covered by the surface network. The inversion estimates total European methane emissions at 24.7 Tg yr⁻¹, including 22.1 Tg yr⁻¹ from anthropogenic sources, which is 1.0 Tg yr⁻¹ higher than the prior inventory. The upward revision is mainly attributed to livestock and waste emissions in central and western Europe, partly offset by lower fossil fuel emissions in the North Sea. National emissions for the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy are 27–62 % higher than reported to the UNFCCC. The inversion also reveals an overall decline in anthropogenic emissions (–0.27 Tg yr⁻²). While consistent in magnitude with the prior estimate, the inversion shows a distinct spatial pattern: increases in livestock and waste emissions in western Europe contrast with decreases in fossil fuel production regions such as the North Sea and Poland. These findings highlight the value of atmospheric observations for evaluating methane inventories and informing climate policy.
Authors 8
-
Westlake University · Zhejiang University
Affiliation as printed
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China
-
Yuzhong Zhang corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China
-
Westlake University · Zhejiang University
Affiliation as printed
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China
-
Westlake University · Zhejiang University
Affiliation as printed
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China
-
Affiliation as printed
Research Institute for Smart Cities, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, PR China
-
Affiliation as printed
Joint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
-
Affiliation as printed
Joint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
-
Space Research Organisation Netherlands · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, the Netherlands
Cited by 0 stored of 0
No patents citing this paper on Lens.org (checked 2026-10-11).