We Can Manage What We Measure: Where Near-term Reductions in Methane are Important and Achievable

Climate TRACE estimates that anthropogenic methane emissions in 2025 were just over 410 million tonnes, with agriculture, fossil energy, and waste accounting for 97% of the total. The report argues that slashing methane is the most impactful way to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius due to the gas's powerful near-term warming effect. It identifies specific actionable opportunities: reducing methane intensity in oil and gas production (particularly in the US and Mexico), capturing coal mine methane, targeting a small number of high-emitting landfills, and addressing enteric fermentation and rice cultivation in agriculture.

• Agriculture, fossil energy systems (oil, gas, and coal), and waste are the primary drivers of man-made methane, collectively representing 97% of total anthropogenic emissions. In 2025, total emissions were estimated to be just over 410 million tonnes (Mt).
• There is a significant discrepancy between self-reported methane emissions and independent inventories; UNFCCC figures (326 Mt) are substantially lower than Climate TRACE estimates (just over 410 Mt in 2025) and IEA figures (345 Mt).
• Oil and gas (O&G) operations are highly actionable for reduction, though they are prone to undercounting. In 2025, O&G production emitted 70.4 Mt of methane, with an additional 7.4 Mt from pipelines and LNG vessels. The US and Mexico are highlighted as needing further action to reduce methane intensities.
• Coal mining operations produced 66.8 Mt of methane in 2025. Implementing emissions-reduction solutions (ERS), such as methane recovery and utilization, ventilation air methane (VAM) oxidation, and fugitive methane flaring, could reduce these emissions by at least 45%.
• Methane emissions from the waste sector are highly concentrated; the top 10% of emitting landfills globally (1,373 sites) account for 70% of all methane emissions from waste. Combining biocover and waste diversion could reduce emissions by 40-50%.
• Agriculture is the largest but most difficult sector to abate. Enteric fermentation from cattle is the largest single source of methane worldwide, emitting 130.7 Mt in 2025. Rice cultivation emitted 26.4 Mt in 2025, with over 65% of these emissions coming from India, Thailand, China, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.

APA

Climate TRACE (n.d.). We Can Manage What We Measure: Where Near-term Reductions in Methane are Important and Achievable. https://media.climatetrace.org/Climate_TRACE_UNSG_Methane_v_Final_340d2db940.pdf

Chicago

Climate TRACE. We Can Manage What We Measure: Where Near-term Reductions in Methane are Important and Achievable. n.d. https://media.climatetrace.org/Climate_TRACE_UNSG_Methane_v_Final_340d2db940.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate TRACE |title=We Can Manage What We Measure: Where Near-term Reductions in Methane are Important and Achievable |url=https://media.climatetrace.org/Climate_TRACE_UNSG_Methane_v_Final_340d2db940.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatetracendcan, author = {{Climate TRACE}}, title = {{We Can Manage What We Measure: Where Near-term Reductions in Methane are Important and Achievable}}, institution = {Climate TRACE}, url = {https://media.climatetrace.org/Climate_TRACE_UNSG_Methane_v_Final_340d2db940.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }