- The Global Methane Status Report 2025 shows that global methane emissions have risen since 2020.
- Under current legislation, methane emissions are projected to be about 5% higher in 2030 compared to 2020.
- It states that 72% of the global methane-reduction potential lies with G20+ countries, highlighting the need for rapid, scaled-up action.
A new assessment released on the sidelines of COP30 in Belém has warned that global efforts to cut methane remain off track, while highlighting gaps in India’s approach to methane emissions in its climate plans.
The Global Methane Status Report 2025, produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), reviews progress under the Global Methane Pledge, which commits participating countries to work toward a collective reduction of at least 30% in global methane emissions from 2020 levels by 2030.
The Global Methane Pledge was launched at COP26 in 2021 by the European Union and the United States. This year, 2025, marks its halfway point. As of April 2025, 159 countries and the European Commission had joined the pledge, together accounting for 57% of global emissions.
The report finds that global anthropogenic methane emissions have risen by a few percent since 2020. Agriculture accounts for the majority, 42%, of these emissions, energy for 38%, and waste for 20%. Although current legislation and policy shifts mean projected 2030 emissions are somewhat lower than earlier forecasts, they are still expected to be higher than in 2020 unless countries fully deploy available control measures.
The report says that three of the top five are yet to commit to the GMP. India is one of them and is identified as the world’s third-largest methane emitter in absolute terms. The report notes that India “does not identify action to reduce emissions from its largest source, agriculture, within its NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions).”
Reacting to the findings, Zerin Osho, Director of the India programme at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD), said, “India’s NDC does not single out methane, but it is gas-agnostic and sufficiently ambitious, covering economy-wide emissions intensity reductions. Importantly, since India’s methane profile is dominated by ‘survival emissions’ from enteric fermentation and paddy, activities carried out by marginal and small farmers that underpin national and global food security. Thus, abatement measures must guarantee economic and adaptive benefits.”
“This sectoral structure (agriculture) also contrasts with the industrial, large-scale agricultural systems in developed countries,” she added.
Osho outlined a near-term strategy for India that builds on existing schemes. “Climate action on methane can be scaled through subnational mandates that align with national priorities. A dual-strategy for non-CO₂ and CO₂ emission reduction can prevent near-term warming through low-cost methane abatement levers and sustain it through the decarbonisation marathon. Linking existing schemes across agriculture, energy and waste to clear methane outcomes is feasible without waiting to revise the NDC.”
She also stressed the importance of data and monitoring. “We are already seeing satellite-based monitoring for larger methane plumes from oil and gas and waste sectors; however, finer resolution remote sensing and greater accessibility and exchange through public and private satellites can unlock necessary climate finance while enabling judicious allocation of resources. In agriculture, for instance, this means scaling up pilot efforts in rice cultivation that aim to generate region-specific emission factors across our 23 agro-climatic zones. Having reliable emission-factor data (rather than relying only on IPCC defaults) will strengthen our MRV, unlock finance and target the highest-emitting zones for intervention. Studies show the methane emission factor in rice can vary widely by water regime, soil and climate.”
“India already has a clear set of scalable methane-mitigation pathways across rice, livestock, and manure management. The challenge is less about identifying technologies and more about enabling their widescale, equitable adoption,” she said.
According to the report, the energy sector accounts for 72% of global technical mitigation potential for 2030, followed by agriculture and waste, and G20-plus countries which include the 19 sovereign countries of the G20, plus the remaining 24 European Union countries, three Western European countries, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and New Zealand, account for most of the global methane-reduction potential.
Benefits of methane cuts
The report said that global anthropogenic emissions of methane reached approximately 352 million tonnes (Mt) per year in 2020 and, under current legislation, are projected to continue rising, reaching 369 Mt per year in 2030, five per cent above 2020. However, if the world community manages to reduce methane emissions below 2020 levels, there are multiple benefits.
The report outlined the benefits of full implementation of maximum technically feasible reductions (MTFR), which would result in a 32% reduction in anthropogenic methane emissions from the 2020 level.
It could prevent more than 180,000 premature deaths, reduce crop losses by 19 million tonnes, and save 53 billion hours of labour by 2030. The economic value of these avoided impacts is estimated at over $330 billion annually, the report said
Even under the more modest ambition of the actions outlined in countries’ NDCs and Methane Action Plans, the report estimates 60,000 fewer premature deaths, 6.1 million tonnes of avoided crop losses, and $107 billion in annual benefits by 2030.
Looking ahead, the report warns that without stronger action, methane emissions could climb 21% above 2020 levels by 2050, locking in additional climate and health impacts across multiple regions. Full implementation of technical measures, combined with shifts in diets and reduced food waste, is the only pathway that aligns with 1.5°C-consistent scenarios, enabling a 53% drop in methane emissions by mid-century.
The report described the next five years as critical, stressing that rapid methane reductions offer one of the fastest ways to slow near-term warming while delivering major health, agricultural, and economic gains worldwide.
Banner image: A farmer operates a tractor in a wheat field in Punjab. The Global Methane Status Report 2025 found that agriculture accounts for 42% of global anthropogenic methane emissions, and that India is yet to plan sufficient action steps to reduce emissions in this category. Image by CIAT via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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