Opportunities for Methane Mitigation in Agriculture: Technological, Economic and Regulatory Considerations

This report by the World Resources Institute outlines technological and practice-based strategies to mitigate methane emissions from three primary agricultural sources: enteric fermentation, manure management, and rice cultivation, in alignment with the Global Methane Pledge and the Paris Agreement.

• Agriculture is a critical sector for climate action because it contributes nearly half of global methane emissions. The report identifies three primary sources of these emissions: ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) via enteric fermentation, which accounts for over 55-60% of agricultural methane; rice cultivation, responsible for 18-20%; and manure management, which contributes 6-8%.
• Available technological solutions for rapid methane reduction include methane-inhibiting feed additives, changes to rice cultivation irrigation practices, and the solid-liquid separation of manure. While many of these strategies have a relatively low cost per ton of CO₂e mitigated, adoption is currently limited by economic and technological barriers.
• Achieving the Global Methane Pledge's goal of reducing global anthropogenic methane emissions by 30% by 2030 (relative to 2020 levels) and the 2050 Paris Agreement goals requires increased government support, private sector engagement, harmonized policies, and mobilized financial resources for research, development, and deployment.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Opportunities for Methane Mitigation in Agriculture: Technological, Economic and Regulatory Considerations. https://www.wri.org/research/opportunities-methane-mitigation-agriculture-technological-economic-regulatory

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Opportunities for Methane Mitigation in Agriculture: Technological, Economic and Regulatory Considerations. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/opportunities-methane-mitigation-agriculture-technological-economic-regulatory.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Opportunities for Methane Mitigation in Agriculture: Technological, Economic and Regulatory Considerations |url=https://www.wri.org/research/opportunities-methane-mitigation-agriculture-technological-economic-regulatory |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendopportunities, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Opportunities for Methane Mitigation in Agriculture: Technological, Economic and Regulatory Considerations}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/opportunities-methane-mitigation-agriculture-technological-economic-regulatory}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }