Methane (CH4) emissions

Methane emissions by country in the world

Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG), just like CO2. Its duration in the atmosphere is approximately 12 years, quite small if we compare it with that of CO2. In return, it has a much greater capacity than this to trap heat in the atmosphere, so its global warming potential is higher.

The good news is that, given its relatively short duration in the atmosphere, reducing methane emissions would have a positive impact in the short term.

Although methane gas is a necessary gas for life on Earth, by helping to maintain the temperature in it, its excess in our atmosphere is very harmful, since it is responsible to a great extent (approximately 30%) of global warming, that supposes the increase of the temperatures, with dire consequences. Furthermore, methane is primarily responsible for the formation of ground-level ozone, a very dangerous pollutant.

In the ranking of methane emitting countries that we publish at the top of the page we can see the following data:

• Total CH4 Mt: CH4 in megatons.
• CH4 t (CO2e) per capita: This is the methane emitted in the country divided by the number of inhabitants, that is, methane emissions per inhabitant. It is expressed in CO2 equivalent, taking into account that the emission of 1 kg of methane `produces approximately the same greenhouse effect in 100 years as 25 kg of CO2.

In the ranking at the top of the page we publish the methane emissions by country. Clicking on CH4 total or CH4 per capita we can order the ranking. To see the evolution of emissions in each of the countries, click on the name of the country.

Methane emitters by sectors

There are different processes that involve the emission of methane, the main ones are:

• Production and transportation of coal, natural gas and oil.
• Agriculture and Forestry: Rice cultivation using the flood technique.
• Landfills: The decomposition of organic matter.
• Livestock: Storage of manure and gases emitted by livestock.
• Sewage treatment.

The most important methane emitters are energy production and extraction, landfills and incinerators, emissions from livestock (enteric fermentation), manure, sewage, rice crops.

In any case, a part of the methane emissions that are produced are of natural origin, such as those produced by the decomposition of organic waste, swamps, or those from the animal world.

How to reduce methane emissions?

As we have seen, the reduction of methane emissions, and therefore of the excess methane in the atmosphere that we currently suffer, is vital so that the warming of the atmosphere does not continue to rise. In addition, the reduction of methane would affect the decrease in tropospheric ozone, which is detrimental to health.

The good news is that methane emissions can be reduced relatively cheaply, compared to CO2 emissions.

There are different possible actions to reduce methane in each of the sectors involved in its emissions.

On the one hand, in the livestock sector, an alternative to animal protein should be considered so that intensive livestock farming does not continue to grow in an unlimited way. In addition, the feed that livestock receives contributes to increasing or decreasing the methane that it expels into the atmosphere. If cattle were given a more nutritious diet, they would be more productive and therefore more efficient. In the field of livestock, better manure treatment, involving composting, covering or using it to produce biogas, would also contribute to the reduction of methane emissions.

In the field of agriculture, the best option seems to be to change the flood system of the paddy rice fields, for an irrigation and drainage system, which could reduce the emissions they produce by half and also mean savings of important water.