Datastream
The Benefits of Reducing Methane Emissions
The following content is sponsored by Carbon Streaming Corporation.
The Briefing
- Almost half of net global warming comes from methane emissions—but only 2% of all climate financing goes towards its reduction.
- By 2030, 45% of anthropogenic methane emissions can be reduced with available, targeted solutions combined with additional measures that are aligned with development goals.
The Benefits of Reducing Methane Emissions
Methane is highly potent, capturing 84 times more heat than CO₂ in its first 20 years in the atmosphere.
In spite of these dangers, methane abatement receives a fraction of all climate financing. Based on an analysis from the Climate Policy Initiative, $110 billion in funding is needed annually, or about tenfold the amount spent today.
This infographic sponsored by Carbon Streaming Corporation looks at the benefits of mitigating methane emissions across key sectors.
The Benefits of Reducing Methane Emissions
The risk of methane emissions is substantial: it has contributed to nearly half of net global warming.
The good news is that future emissions can be cut significantly. Methane solutions that are currently available, combined with additional measures that target priority development goals, can cut 45% of human-caused methane emissions by 2030, equivalent to about 180 million tonnes per year (Mt/yr).
This translates into 0.28°C in avoided warming between 2040 and 2070 along with 255,000 premature deaths being avoided due to rising ozone concentrations.
Sector | Avoided Warming 2040 - 2070 | Avoided Premature Deaths due to Ozone Per Year | Avoided Crop Losses |
---|---|---|---|
Agriculture | 0.04°C | 40,000 | 4 Mt/yr |
Waste | 0.05°C | 45,000 | 5 Mt/yr |
Fossil Fuels | 0.09°C | 80,000 | 8 Mt/yr |
Additional | 0.10°C | 90,000 | 9 Mt/yr |
Total | 0.28°C | 255,000 | 26 Mt/yr |
Source: UN Environment Programme
On top of this, 26 million tonnes of crop losses could be avoided each year—equal to about 10% of America’s total food production annually—by utilizing these combined reduction measures.
Methane Mitigation Potential by Sector
As a noxious greenhouse gas, methane is often found in livestock emissions, landfills, and natural gas. For these reasons, the agricultural, waste, and fossil fuel sectors produce the most methane emissions annually.
Where do the largest opportunities lie in mitigating emissions?
Waste
The waste sector presents an opportunity to reduce 29-36 million tonnes of methane emissions annually. The vast majority—80% of landfill emissions and 70% of wastewater methane emissions—can potentially be mitigated by 2030 with technologies that are technically feasible today.
Agriculture
By 2030, 30 million tonnes of methane emissions have the potential to be removed each year in the agricultural sector. In fact, 30% of livestock emissions can be potentially eliminated in a technically feasible way over this time period.
Fossil Fuels
The highest potential is found in fossil fuels, with up to 57 million tonnes of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and up to 25 million tonnes from the coal sector having the potential to be mitigated each year by 2030. Research shows that up to 80% of targeted measures in the oil and gas sector and up to 98% of coal measures could be implemented at negative or low cost.
In particular, methane leak detection and repair in the oil and gas industry represent a significant opportunity. For instance, between 2019 and 2021, over 2,400 large methane leaks took place.
Significant Potential
Today, technologies to fight methane emissions are readily available, with the potential for immediate benefits.
Consider how 0.1°C in warming could be prevented by 2050 using methane abatement technologies in the oil and gas sector. This is equivalent to eliminating the entire emissions of road vehicles—from cars to two-wheelers—globally.
Given the grave threat methane emissions pose to the planet and society, methane abatement solutions present significant opportunities using current technologies.
Carbon Streaming supports mitigating methane emissions with its carbon credit streams on projects in Canada and India.
Where does this data come from?
Source: UN Environment Programme, ‘Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions’ (May 2021)
Datastream
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Using data from the UN, this chart shows civilian death toll figures resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Briefing
- In total, since the war began in February there have been over 7,031 Ukrainian civilian deaths
- Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons, such as missiles and heavy artillery
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has wrought suffering and death on a mass scale, with many Russian attacks targeted at civilians.
We’ve created this visual using data from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to better understand how many civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of the war, as well as how many were injured and how many were children.
The Numbers
As of early December, it is reported that 7,031 people in Ukraine have died because of the war — 433 of them children. Another 11,327 have been injured, 827 of which are children. In total, this is over 18,000 people killed or injured.
The figures are difficult to verify due to differing reports coming out of both Russia and Ukraine. The UN OHCHR anticipates that the numbers could be even higher.
The State of the Conflict
The war began on February 24th, 2022 and less than a year in, millions of people have been displaced by the conflict, and thousands of civilians have been injured or killed.
According to the UN, most of the civilian deaths have been caused by wide-ranging explosives such as heavy artillery shelling, missiles, and air strikes, and have been concentrated in Donetsk and Luhansk and in other territory still held by Ukraine.
Additionally, new estimates from Kyiv report approximately 13,000 Ukrainian military or soldier deaths, which has yet to be confirmed by the army.
Where does this data come from?
Source: The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights monthly reports on civilian deaths in Ukraine.
Note: Data on deaths and injuries can vary wildly depending on the source.
-
Misc4 days ago
Visualizing the Odds of Dying from Various Accidents
-
Energy2 weeks ago
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2013-2022)
-
Technology2 days ago
Infographic: 11 Tech Trends to Watch in 2023
-
Misc4 weeks ago
Infographic: The Longest Lasting Cars, in Miles
-
Politics2 weeks ago
Which Countries are the Most Polarized?
-
Energy15 hours ago
Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
-
Markets4 weeks ago
The U.S. Stock Market: Best and Worst Performing Sectors in 2022
-
Energy2 weeks ago
Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing (2022-2027P)