India Ranks First Globally In Methane Emissions From Agriculture: UN Body
The Global Methane Status Report 2025, published by the United Nations Environment Programme, has revealed that India ranks first globally in methane emissions from the agricultural sector. Notably, methane is a significant greenhouse gas that drives climate change.
The report stated that Emissions change significantly across the regions. The G20+ accounts for more than 60 per cent of global agricultural methane emissions, led by India, China, Brazil, the United States of America and the European Union. The report was released at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Brazil on November 17.
Agriculture was the largest source of global biogenic methane emissions in 2020
As per the report, agriculture was the largest source of global biogenic methane emissions in 2020, responsible for 146 million tonnes per year or around 42 percent of the global total, slightly ahead of the energy sector. Apparently, livestock and rice cultivation dominate these emissions, contributing 76 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, whereas agricultural waste burning accounts for the remaining three per cent.
Methane emissions in agriculture come from livestock
The UN body warned that without additional mitigation policies beyond those in place as of December 2024, emissions from agriculture are projected to rise by 7.8 percent by 2030 and 27 per cent by 2050 compared to 2020 levels. The growth will be driven by increasing livestock herds, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Methane emissions in agriculture primarily come from livestock involving reflecting digestion and manure, and rice cultivation, where flooded rice fields create anaerobic conditions that produce methane from decomposing organic matter. India has the world’s largest number of livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, and chickens, and is the world’s second largest producer of rice.
Low-cost mitigation technologies
The report focuses undoubtedly, agriculture is a significant and growing source of methane emissions. Multiple cost-effective and socially beneficial mitigation options exist. Urgent and ambitious action is required to close the gap between current policy ambition and the sector’s full mitigation potential. Using low-cost mitigation technologies, those costing less than USD 1,000 per tonne of methane or USD 36 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, could decrease agricultural methane emissions by 15 per
cent by 2030 compared to projected emissions for the sector under current legislation in the same year.