2026-05-30 · percent of anthropogenic methane
Methane leaks from energy, cows, and wetlands
CH₄ warms fast over decades. Fossil fuel operations, livestock, and rice paddies top human-linked sources.
Methane warms fast over decades, making it one of the quickest levers against near-term warming. Of human-linked methane, agriculture — led by livestock and rice paddies — accounts for 40%, fossil fuel operations 35%, and waste plus other sources 25%. Each band calls for a different fix.
1 cell = 0.1 percent of anthropogenic methane (0.1% of human-linked methane emissions) · 1,000 cells
Context
Fossil fuel operations — coal mines, oil and gas wells, and the pipelines that connect them — account for 35% of human-linked methane. The IEA's methane abatement work centers on detecting and repairing exactly these leaks across energy supply chains.
Agriculture is the largest band at 40%, driven mainly by livestock and rice paddies, where flooded fields foster methane-emitting microbes. These sources are diffuse, so fixes look like feed, herd, and water management rather than valve repairs.
Waste and other sources make up the remaining 25%. Natural wetlands emit methane too, but this grid counts only the human-linked share; figures are rounded, drawn from IEA and Climate and Clean Air Coalition breakdowns for 2026.
IEA / Climate and Clean Air Coalition methane breakdown, rounded.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-05-30-methane-sources