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Methane emissions have risen to its highest level on record and livestock farming and fossil fuels are responsible for the majority of it. This is a major problem, as methane is 28 times better at trapping heat within the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. It is also the second greatest contributor to global warming after carbon. Thus, the escalation in emissions has put the world on track to warm by 3C to 4C.
Over the part 20 years, the discharge of methane has grown by 50m tonnes per year. This is equal to the emissions of 350m cars and its twice as much as the emissions of France or Germany. Half of the methane comes from human sources. Agriculture, landfills, and ranching are responsible for 2/3 of these emissions and fossil fuels make up the rest.
The atmosphere absorbed nearly 600m tonnes of methane in 2017, the last year from which data is available. This is an increase of 9% since the early 2000s. The agricultural sector contributed to this growth by increasing its emissions by 11%, whereas the fossil fuel industry's emissions rose by 15%. In total, human activities have increased the amount of methane in the atmosphere by 2.6 times since the industrial revolution. On the other hand, carbon has grown by 1.7 times.
Asia, Africa, and Oceania's methane emissions have grown the most since the beginning of the 21st century, mainly because of agricultural expansion. The US has also increased its emissions by 4.5m tonnes annually, due to fracking, consumption, piping and fossil fuel projects. Europe is the only continent to decreased its emissions after taking action on methane pollution from industry and manure.
If we reduce methane emissions, we can slow down climate change, cut half a degree off the forecasted peak temperature, and buy time to tackle carbon dioxide emissions. This must therefore be a priority for industry and political institutions.