Key Facts about Methane Emissions from Waste
Explore facts from the waste sector and discover methane emissions sources, learn about their contributions to climate change, understand how emissions evolve over time and see opportunities to drive mitigation actions.
On this page, learn about
Underlying sources of methane
Reducing methane emissions is a powerful pathway for achieving near-term warming targets
Methane’s relatively short lifespan, strong potency, and abundance, as well as its economic value when captured to produce energy, make emissions reductions from this gas a powerful pathway for achieving near-term (e.g., 2030 and 2050) warming targets.
Global methane emissions sources – Agriculture Sector
19% Global methane emissions from Waste (range 17-21%)
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12% Wastewater
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10% Solid Waste
Percentages of global total
| Source | % of Global Total | Featured Stat |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 40% — Global methane emissions from Agriculture (range 36-41%) | |
| Livestock | 32% | |
| Enteric Fermentation | 29% | |
| Manure Management | 3% | |
| Rice Cultivation | 9% | |
| Fossil Fuels | 34% — Global methane emissions from Fossil Fuels (range 33-35%) | |
| Oil & Gas | 18% | |
| Coal | 13% | |
| Industrial Processes | 1% | |
| Waste | 19% — Global methane emissions from Waste (range 17-21%) | |
| Wastewater | 12% | |
| Solid Waste | 10% |
EMISSIONS PROFILE BY SUB-SECTOR AND GEOGRAPHY
Where are methane emissions from waste most prominent?
Because of the dominance of livestock in agricultural emissions, the regions and countries that lead in agricultural methane are those that have the largest livestock herds, in particular beef and dairy cattle herds. China, Brazil, India, the United States, and Pakistan have the five largest cattle herds in the world.
Top methane emissions from Waste in 2022
| Geography | Waste Water | Solid Waste | Total (incl. Other) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waste Water (Mt) | % of sector total | Solid Waste (Mt) | % of sector total | Total (Mt) | % of sector total | |
| Asia | 27.6Mt | 31.7% | 17.9Mt | 20.5% | 45.4Mt | 52.2% |
| China | 9.9Mt | 11.4% | 6.7Mt | 7.7% | 16.6Mt | 19.1% |
| India | 6.7Mt | 7.7% | 0.7Mt | 0.8% | 7.4Mt | 8.6% |
| Russia | 1Mt | 1.2% | 3.6Mt | 4.1% | 4.6Mt | 5.3% |
| Central and South America | 6.7Mt | 7.7% | 6.8Mt | 7.8% | 13.5Mt | 15.6% |
| Brazil | 3.5Mt | 4.1% | 2.2Mt | 2.5% | 5.8Mt | 6.6% |
| Africa | 6.9Mt | 7.9% | 4.2Mt | 4.8% | 11.1Mt | 12.7% |
| Europe | 2.1Mt | 2.4% | 3.9Mt | 4.5% | 6Mt | 6.9% |
| North America | 1.3Mt | 1.5% | 4.6Mt | 5.2% | 5.9Mt | 6.8% |
| United States | 1.1Mt | 1.3% | 3.9Mt | 4.5% | 5.1Mt | 5.8% |
| Middle East | 2.1Mt | 2.4% | 2.3Mt | 2.7% | 4.4Mt | 5.1% |
| Other | 0.1Mt | 0.1% | 0.5Mt | 0.6% | 0.7Mt | 0.8% |
| Grand Total | 46.8Mt | 53.8% | 40.2Mt | 46.2% | 87Mt | 100% |
Waste METHANE EMISSIONS TRENDS
Human-driven methane emissions have increased globally by more than 50% over the last fifty years
Averaging across models, emissions are projected to increase by 14% in waste (driven by population growth and economic development in developing countries). These estimates assume implementation of existing policies and commitments, but do not include additional mitigation action.
Although rising populations and incomes are the primary drivers of growth in methane emissions, waste will grow most significantly because agriculture and energy increase in efficiency over time, especially as economies transition to renewable sources of energy.
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Methane emissions in select countries and sectors over time
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MITIGATION OPPORTUNITIES
37-46% of emissions from the waste sector are mitigable at all costs
13-26% of 2030 emissions which can be mitigated at negative cost through efforts like capturing methane from landfills and using it for energy generation. The scale is smaller than fossil fuels due to fewer emissions coming from the waste sector.
Mitigatable emissions in 2030 for the fossil fuel sector estimated from the Global Methane Assessment (2021)
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