The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land use (AFOLU) sector comprises of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture practices, livestock, and changes in forest and land use. GHG emissions from livestock sub-sector includes emissions due to enteric fermentation in herbivores and manure management practices.

Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, and rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are key to limiting near-term global warming and improving air quality.

An Eye on Methane: International Methane Emissions Observatory 2021 Report describes how state actors can take action to curb methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry, and what progress has been made as part of the decarbonization process, particularly in the energy sector.

With climate change intensifying and scientists warning that humanity is running out of time to limit global warming to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels, 2021 has been a fraught year for the planet.

Tackling methane emissions from fossil fuel operations represents one of the best near-term opportunities for limiting the worse effects of climate change because of its short-lived nature in the atmosphere and the large scope for cost-effective abatement, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

The latest report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC), Keeping 1.5°C Alive: Closing the Gap in the 2020s, sets out the key actions necessary in the 2020s to deliver the Paris agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C.

It has been estimated that rice production accounts for up to 55% of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions budget from agricultural soils.

Agricultural GHG emissions are predominately in the form of CH4, nitrous oxide (N2O), CO2, and black carbon. Methane and black carbon are both SLCPs. Black carbon emissions can be caused by the burning of biomass (such as crop residues) and from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.

The assessment highlights the critical role that cutting methane emissions, including from the fossil fuel industry, plays in slowing the rate of global warming. Cutting human-caused methane by 45% this decade would keep warming beneath a threshold agreed by world leaders.

A frenzy of new mine projects and proposals in some of the world’s gassiest coal seams could emit enough methane to rival the current CO2 emissions from coal plants in the United States, according to new data and modeling from Global Energy Monitor.