May 1, 2024
Methane (CH4) is responsible for approximately 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, even though its share of global GHG emissions is not that large at about 18%.
Globally, methane emissions (excluding LULUCF*) were basically flat at about 6,800 Mt CO2eq from 19990-2001. They have since steadily increased to almost 9,000 Mt CO2eq in 2022 with a dip in 2020 from the impact of the Covid pandemic.
China is the largest emitter of CH4 with over 1,300 Mt CO2eq emissions in 2022, about 15% of the total. They are followed by the US at 800 Mt CO2eq (9%), India at over 700 Mt CO2eq (8%), Russia at 600 Mt CO2eq (7%), and Brazil at almost 550 Mt CO2eq (6%).
Combined, these top 5 methane emitters represent almost 50% of global methane emissions.
Canada’s methane emissions are less than 100 Mt CO2eq.
*Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)
Sources:
1.IER. FEBRUARY 28, 2023. Global and U.S. Methane Emissions in 2022 Based on IEA’s Tracker. Available at https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/climate-change/global-and-u-s-methane-emissions-in-2022-based-on-ieas-tracker/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20International%20Energy,also%20known%20as%20anthropogenic%20emissions.
3.IEA. Global Methane Tracker 2023. 2023. Available at https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023.