What is Methane?

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas that has contributed to around 30% of global temperature rise since the Industrial Revolution. Its atmospheric concentration today is about 2.5 times higher than pre-industrial levels and is increasing faster than most other greenhouse gases. Despite having a short atmospheric lifetime of around 10 years, methane has a very high warming impact, making near-term climate mitigation highly sensitive to methane reductions.

According to the Global Methane Tracker 2025 released by the , the energy sector emitted about 145 million tonnes (Mt) of methane in 2024. Oil and gas operations alone accounted for over 80 Mt, highlighting methane as a critical climate challenge beyond carbon dioxide.

Key Characteristics of Methane

• It is colourless, odourless, and highly flammable, often referred to as marsh gas.
• Methane has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) nearly 80 times that of CO₂ over a 20-year period.
• Around 60% of global methane emissions are anthropogenic, while the rest originate from natural sources such as wetlands and thawing permafrost.

Major Sources of Methane Emissions

Anthropogenic Sources

The three largest human-driven sources are:

• Agriculture – livestock digestion (enteric fermentation) and rice cultivation
• Energy sector – oil, natural gas, coal, and bioenergy
• Waste sector – landfills and wastewater treatment

The energy sector alone contributes more than 35% of global human-induced methane emissions.

Methane Emissions from the Energy Sector

Within the energy system, emissions arise from extraction, processing, transport, and end-use leakage.

• Oil operations: ~45 Mt
• Natural gas operations: ~35 Mt
• Coal mining: >40 Mt, including emissions from abandoned mines
• Abandoned oil and gas wells: ~3 Mt
• Bioenergy combustion: ~18 Mt, largely from traditional biomass such as wood, dung, and charcoal
• End-use equipment leakage: ~2 Mt
• Modern bioenergy sources (biogas, biomethane, biofuels): ~2 Mt

Natural Sources

Natural methane emissions mainly come from:

• Wetlands, the largest natural source
• Permafrost thawing, which releases methane and CO₂ as temperatures rise

Climate change itself risks amplifying natural methane release, creating feedback loops.

Mitigation Potential

The IEA highlights that methane is one of the easiest greenhouse gases to reduce:

• Nearly 70% of methane emissions from fossil fuels can be mitigated using existing technologies.
• In the oil and gas sector, about 75% of emissions can be reduced through:
  • Fixing leaks
  • Improving monitoring
  • Plugging abandoned wells

Many of these measures are low-cost or even cost-saving, as captured methane can be sold as fuel.

Major Methane-Emitting Countries

Top emitters from fossil fuel operations include:

• China
• United States
• Russia
• Iran
• Turkmenistan
• India

Global Efforts to Reduce Methane

• The Global Methane Pledge, launched at COP26, aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030.
• Methane mitigation is increasingly viewed as a fast-track strategy to slow near-term global warming.