Methane emissions are driving climate change. Here’s how to reduce them.

A recent assessment from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition found that cutting farming-related methane emissions would be key in the battle against climate change. But how can the world do that? Read on for the answers.

Where does methane come from?

Agriculture is the predominant source.

Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for roughly 32 per cent of human-caused methane emissions. Population growth, economic development and urban migration have stimulated unprecedented demand for animal protein and with the global population approaching 10 billion, this hunger is expected to increase by up to 70 per cent by 2050. 

Agricultural methane doesn’t only come from animals, though. Paddy rice cultivation – in which flooded fields prevent oxygen from penetrating the soil, creating ideal conditions for methane-emitting bacteria – accounts for another 8 per cent of human-linked emissions.

What’s the big deal about methane?

Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.

Methane has accounted for roughly 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s. In fact, according to data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even as carbon dioxideemissions decelerated during the pandemic-related lockdowns of 2020, atmospheric methane shot up.

How can we reduce methane emissions?

UNEP Food Systems and Agriculture Advisor James Lomax says the world needs to begin by “rethinking our approaches to agricultural cultivation and livestock production.” That includes leveraging new technology, shifting towards plant-rich diets and embracing alternative sources of protein. Lomax says that will be key if humanity is to slash greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to 1.5°C, a target of the Paris climate change agreement.