Why in news?
The latest Global Methane Status Report 2025, released by the UN Environment Programme and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, warns that burning of crop residues is turning India into a methane hotspot. The report calls for urgent action to cut methane emissions to keep the world on track to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.
Background
Methane (CH4) is a colourless, odourless gas that is the primary component of natural gas. Over a 20‑year period, methane warms the planet more than 80 times as much as carbon dioxide. Although it remains in the atmosphere for a shorter time, cutting methane emissions can quickly slow global warming. Sources include livestock digestion, rice paddies, oil and gas operations, landfills and biomass burning. In 2021 more than 150 countries joined the Global Methane Pledge to reduce emissions by 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030.
Key findings of the 2025 report
- Rising concentrations: Atmospheric methane levels have more than doubled since pre‑industrial times, driving a third of current global warming.
- Health and crop impacts: Without rapid cuts, rising emissions could cause around 24,000 additional premature deaths and lead to an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of crop losses annually by 2030.
- India’s role: India is the world’s third‑largest methane emitter. Agricultural activities, especially paddy cultivation, livestock digestion and open burning of crop residues, contribute around 12 percent of global agricultural methane.
- Policy opportunities: If countries fully implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) along with dedicated Methane Action Plans, global emissions could fall by about eight percent by 2030. However, achieving the 30 percent reduction pledged at COP26 requires aggressive measures across sectors.
- Mitigation potential: About 72 percent of global methane reduction potential lies in the G20 plus group of major economies, which together emit 65 percent of anthropogenic methane. Many solutions—such as capturing gas leaks from oil and gas infrastructure, improving manure management and adopting alternate paddy cultivation methods—are already available and cost‑effective.
Implications for India
- Burning of crop residues, especially in northern India, has been singled out as a key source of methane and air pollution. It not only heats the planet but also exacerbates health problems for nearby residents.
- India does not yet have a dedicated methane action plan. The report urges policymakers to integrate methane reduction into national climate strategies, promoting sustainable agriculture practices and improved waste management.
- Reducing methane offers co‑benefits: lower air pollution, improved crop yields and health benefits. Capturing methane from landfills and biogas plants can also provide clean energy for rural households.
Source: UN Environment Programme, Down to Earth
