Research Day 4: Skimming the IEA Methane Report

On Memorial Day weekend, I’m diving back into sustainability research after a long art interlude.

Here in my skim of the report from the International Energy Agency titled Curtailing Methane Emissions from Fossil Fuel Operations.

Starting with my skimming questions:

  1. What is the document, in simple terms?
    • It’s an overview of methane-mitigation measures we could take to meet the goals of COP26. It was created by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
    • Here is what they say about it: “The aim of this report is to present a non-prescriptive, high-level identification of the different measures and approaches that could deliver a 75% reduction in methane emissions from fossil fuel operations by 2030. We consider a range of action that includes policy and regulation, voluntary industry initiatives, as well as tools to improve the quality and availability of information about methane emissions.”
  2. When is it from? October 2021.
  3. What type of language does it use – legalese, engineering-speak, or layman-friendly?
    • Simple, engineering-inflected language.
    • Honestly, I liked this report a lot. I feel like they’re talking to me. Mostly because it’s simple, takes a big picture approach, and focuses on possibilities.
  4. What am I looking for in this document?
    • An overview of ways to get involved, in whatever capacity. With, maybe, an eye toward research and development (R&D) work since that’s my particular interest.
  5. How many (readable) pages is it, excluding appendices and references? 46.
  6. What cited resources do I want to add to my TBR (‘to be read’)?

* * *

There we go! Another installment of the research quest. And only one more report to skim, followed by a round of deep dives.

And then I can settle into the book-portion of the project (items 6 to 9 on the list), which hopefully should be more cozy and involve tea and rocking chairs.

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