Emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, remain high worldwide despite available solutions

Inayat Singh · CBC News

· Posted: May 07, 2025 1:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Methane emissions, a cardinal operator of clime change, stay stubbornly precocious astir the satellite according to an yearly update from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

That's contempt the information that the exertion to chopped those emissions exists present — particularly for emissions from the lipid and state sector.

"Because methane is specified a potent greenhouse gas, reductions are captious for enactment connected climate," said Tomás Bredariol, vigor and biology argumentation expert astatine the IEA who worked connected the Global Methane Tracker report.

Methane is astir 80 times much potent than c dioxide astatine trapping heat, but lone lasts for astir a decennary successful the atmosphere. Its attraction successful the ambiance has much than doubled successful the past 2 centuries, mostly owed to quality activities.

According to caller numbers from the Global Methane Tracker released Wednesday, methane emissions from fossil substance accumulation person remained at about 120 cardinal tonnes annually since 2019, erstwhile they reached a high, and don't look to beryllium coming down contempt planetary methane pledges.

The benefits of methane reductions would beryllium comparatively swift and are sorely needed for a rapidly warming planet, experts from the intergovernmental bureau said.

Small but important reductions

"If we look astatine existent trends and fossil substance supply, beardown enactment connected methane could present a simplification of 0.1 C successful the emergence successful planetary temperatures by 2050," said the IEA's Bredariol.

That mightiness look small, but it is simply a important simplification — equivalent to eliminating each c emissions from dense manufacture (steel, iron, chemic manufacturing, etc.) worldwide.

Despite this, the study says countries are inactive acold down implementing policies to trim methane. 

Only astir 5 per cent of planetary lipid and state accumulation meets net-zero methane emissions standards, according to the agency.

Canada, however, was singled retired arsenic "a starring jurisdiction" successful tackling methane, according to Janetta McKenzie, manager of the lipid and state programme astatine the Pembina Institute.

"If Canada is starring connected reducing lipid and state methane … determination is simply a nett payment to our system arsenic well," she said. "We're aboriginal innovators successful exertion and expertise that puts america successful a presumption to merchantability solutions to the world."

Canada has extended methane regulations for the lipid and state sector, and ambitious targets — a 75 per cent alteration beneath 2012 levels by 2030. This is much ambitious than the Global Methane Pledge, which was launched successful 2021 and includes Canada on with large emitters similar the U.S. and Europe, wherever countries person promised to chopped emissions 30 per cent beneath 2020 levels by 2030.

McKenzie said Canada presently has draught methane regulations to thrust further reductions until 2030, and Ottawa should enactment to finalize those rules for the state to proceed making progress.

Fixing leaks

Agriculture is the biggest root of anthropogenic — oregon human-caused — methane emissions, followed by fossil fuels. But the latter is considered to beryllium the easiest to chopped down.

"There's nary request for technological breakthroughs to present this," Bredariol said. "Around 70 per cent of methane emissions from the vigor assemblage tin beryllium reduced with technologies that person been deployed successful aggregate places astir the satellite precise successfully."

Methane emissions hap chiefly done leaks astatine lipid and state accumulation facilities, pipelines and terminals, and different vigor infrastructure. Technology to trim those emissions involves plugging leaks successful pipes, valves, tanks and different instrumentality astatine these facilities.

But it tin beryllium a situation to find those leaks, since methane is simply a colourless, odourless gas. The IEA says that existent methane emissions worldwide are astir 80 per cent higher than what's reported by countries successful their yearly greenhouse state emissions reports. 

WATCH | Pollution-tracking outer is launched into abstraction (from 2024):

Research implicit the past decennary has helped zoom successful to wherever the leaks are happening, immoderate of which is present being utilized by the IEA for the methane tracking.

The bureau relied connected information from satellites, including GHGSat, which is operated retired of Montreal, to travel up with amended estimates of methane emissions astir the world. Satellites are progressively capable to pinpoint leaks quickly, the study said, and assistance companies and countries ace down connected emissions.

Methane and the planetary agenda

The IEA's study comes arsenic the U.S., the world's 2nd largest methane emitter, is reconsidering methane regulations under President Donald Trump's administration. Other large emitters, specified arsenic China, India and Russia, person not signed connected to the Global Methane Pledge, leaving a cloudy aboriginal for methane reductions worldwide.

In the lack of wide enactment astir methane from immoderate countries, the IEA study is making different lawsuit for plugging methane leaks: redeeming much substance for vigor production.

Methane is the main constituent of natural gas, and the study suggests that methane abatement efforts could marque different 100 cardinal cubic metres of state disposable worldwide each twelvemonth — astir the magnitude of Canada's full earthy state exports per year.

"Methane abatement makes a wide publication to the vigor information agenda," the study said.

McKenzie says determination is simply a bully concern case for Canada to support moving guardant connected methane. The European Union plans to enforce methane emissions standards connected its state imports, and Japan and South Korea are considered related measures for their ain state imports. McKenzie said Canada's enactment connected methane volition assistance it conscionable those standards, arsenic the state tries to grow its state exports beyond the U.S. and to Europe and Asia.