How human activities are responsible for about 60% of global methane emissions

Agriculture and the burning of fossil fuels each account for 20% to 25% of global methane emissions. Photo: AFP

Methane emissions into the atmosphere are increasing and are mainly related to human activities, in particular those relating to fossil fuels and waste management, according to a study focusing on the increase in concentrations of this greenhouse gas between 2000 and 2017.

Since 2007, methane (CH4) concentrations in the atmosphere have been increasing at a rapid rate, with a peak observed in 2020.

Based on this observation, researchers from the University of Maryland in the United States have studied precisely how much of this increase is directly linked to human activity, such as agriculture and the burning of fossil fuels (which each account for 20% to 25% of global methane emissions).

According to data from the Global Carbon Project, about one-third of global methane emissions come from microbes in natural wetlands, which release organic material in the absence of oxygen.

While some of the methane released into the atmosphere has a natural cause, it is estimated that human activities are responsible for about 60% of global methane emissions.