CH₄ ALERT: Africa Land Emissions Reporting & Tracking

CH₄ ALERT is a five-year initiative (2026-2031) led by UCLA, the Congo Basin Institute (CBI), Spark Climate Solutions, and global partners to establish a network of ground-based methane monitoring stations across Africa. The project aims to address one of the largest uncertainties in the global methane budget by providing sustained observations in regions where methane emissions are not well characterized.

Objectives of the project include:

• Reduce uncertainties in methane emissions across Africa.
• Establish a network of five monitoring sites in key methane source regions.
• Strengthen scientific capacity and atmospheric monitoring expertise within African institutions.
• Support national greenhouse gas inventories and implementation of the Global Methane Pledge.

CH₄ ALERT will deploy 5 EM27/SUN instruments at five sites managed by partners :

• Botswana, Okavango Research Institute  
• Cameroon, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture  (IITA)
• Nigeria, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
• Ethiopia, University of Assosa  
• Rwanda, Rwanda Space Agency  

CH₄ ALERT brings together partners from Africa, Europe, and North America, including UCLA, CBI, Spark Climate Solutions, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Rwandan Space Agency, University of Assosa, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory (LSCE), and multiple international climate and Earth observation initiatives.

Expected Outcomes

CH₄ ALERT will provide the first coordinated, long-term methane observing network across key regions of Africa, improving understanding of both natural and human-caused emissions while supporting climate research, greenhouse gas reporting, satellite validation, and evidence-based mitigation strategies.

CH₄ ALERT is funded by the generosity and commitment to science of The Heising-Simons Foundation and is affiliated with PANGEA