Agriculture is the single largest contributor to global methane emissions. In 2023, agricultural processes, such enteric fermentation and manure management, emitted 4.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂) methane. This accounted for roughly 46 percent of total methane emissions that year. Agriculture emissions have risen by 15 percent worldwide since 1990. Meanwhile, methane emissions from the waste sector have risen by more than 50 percent since 1990, to 1.8 GtCO₂, respectively.
Annual methane (CH4) emissions worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by sector
(in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent)
Power Industry - Power and heat generation plants (public & autoproducers)
Industrial combustion - Combustion for industrial manufacturing
Buildings – Small scale non-industrial stationary combustion
Transport – Mobile combustion (road & rail & ship & aviation)
Agriculture Agricultural soils, crop residues burning, enteric fermentation, manure management, indirect N2O emissions from agriculture
Fuel exploitation - Production, transformation and refining of fuels
Processes - Industrial processes (e.g. emissions from the production of cement, iron and steel, aluminum, chemicals, solvents, etc.)
Waste - Solid waste disposal and waste water treatment
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EDGAR/JRC. (September 5, 2024). Annual methane (CH4) emissions worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 20, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298494/annual-global-methane-emissions-by-sector/
EDGAR/JRC. "Annual methane (CH4) emissions worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent)." Chart. September 5, 2024. Statista. Accessed April 20, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298494/annual-global-methane-emissions-by-sector/
EDGAR/JRC. (2024). Annual methane (CH4) emissions worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 20, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298494/annual-global-methane-emissions-by-sector/
EDGAR/JRC. "Annual Methane (Ch4) Emissions Worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by Sector (in Million Metric Tons of Co₂ Equivalent)." Statista, Statista Inc., 5 Sep 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298494/annual-global-methane-emissions-by-sector/
EDGAR/JRC, Annual methane (CH4) emissions worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298494/annual-global-methane-emissions-by-sector/ (last visited April 20, 2025)
Annual methane (CH4) emissions worldwide from 1990 to 2023, by sector (in million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent) [Graph], EDGAR/JRC, September 5, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298494/annual-global-methane-emissions-by-sector/