The Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance

This executive summary by the Climate Policy Initiative assesses global primary investment in methane abatement for 2019/2020. It finds that methane abatement is severely underfunded, receiving less than 2% of total climate finance, despite its high potential for rapid global warming reduction. The report highlights significant funding gaps in the fossil fuel and agriculture sectors and identifies barriers such as measurement uncertainties and a lack of standardized reporting.

• Methane abatement finance is severely insufficient, representing less than 2% of total climate finance flows at USD 11.6 billion in 2019/2020. To keep warming under +2C, an estimated USD 119 billion is needed annually through 2050, requiring at least a tenfold increase in current funding.
• There is a significant mismatch between where methane abatement finance is directed and where the highest mitigation potential exists. The fossil fuel sector has the highest potential for mitigation by 2030 but received the lowest amount of finance, totaling less than 0.5% of methane abatement finance (USD 0.1 billion).
• The waste sector received the largest share of targeted methane abatement finance in 2019/2020, totaling USD 7.3 billion, which is more than half of the total. Much of this was directed toward waste-to-energy projects, specifically waste incinerators which accounted for USD 4.6 billion.
• The Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector attracted USD 4.3 billion in targeted finance in 2019/2020, though this is far below the estimated annual need of USD 43 billion by 2050. Over half of these investments focused on bioenergy projects using forestry and crop residues.
• Financial flows are geographically concentrated, with the East Asia and Pacific region (led by China) receiving over 50% of tracked abatement finance (USD 6.0 billion). In contrast, South Asia and Latin America & Caribbean combined received only 5% of tracked finance, despite producing 28% of total methane emissions.
• Private sector actors provided the majority of tracked financial flows at USD 6.2 billion, focusing on commercially viable segments like waste-to-energy. The public sector provided USD 4.5 billion, with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) contributing 13% (USD 1.5 billion) of all tracked flows, playing a critical role in the AFOLU sector.
• Key barriers hindering the increase of methane abatement finance include uncertainties in emissions measurement, a lack of standardized reporting data, patchy policy and regulatory environments, and insufficient support for early-stage innovation in sectors like livestock.

APA

Rosane, P., Naran, B., Pastor, A. O., & Connolly, J. (2022). The Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Summary-l-Landscape-of-Methane-Abatement-Finance.pdf

Chicago

Rosane, Paul, Baysa Naran, Angela Ortega Pastor, and Jake Connolly. The Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance. Climate Policy Initiative, 2022. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Summary-l-Landscape-of-Methane-Abatement-Finance.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rosane |first1=Paul |last2=Naran |first2=Baysa |last3=Pastor |first3=Angela Ortega |last4=Connolly |first4=Jake |title=The Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=July 2022 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Summary-l-Landscape-of-Methane-Abatement-Finance.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rosane2022landscape, author = {Rosane, Paul and Naran, Baysa and Pastor, Angela Ortega and Connolly, Jake}, title = {{The Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Summary-l-Landscape-of-Methane-Abatement-Finance.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }