Global methane trajectory sounds alarm as nations race to respond

Studies of methane emissions reveal rising global levels, urging rapid deployment of cost-effective solutions, as monitoring systems expand and data-driven transparency reshapes the global abatement landscape

- BY ABDULAZIZ KHATTAK

THE world is staring down a methane crisis that is accelerating more quickly than anticipated, even as governments and industries embrace new commitments and technologies designed to slow the planet's near-term warming.

Methane’s influence on climate change, far more potent than carbon dioxide over short timescales, continues to sharpen, positioning this single gas as both a threat and an opportunity during what may be the most consequential decade for global climate action.

Rising emissions are colliding with expanding political will, sophisticated satellite detection, and a proliferation of new policy frameworks.

Yet the core warning of the Global Methane Status Report 2025 is unmistakable: Progress is real but nowhere near fast enough, and the window to reverse the current emissions trajectory is narrowing with disquieting speed.

Despite “one of the most powerful and cost-effective strategies to slow near-term warming” being readily available in the form of methane mitigation, global anthropogenic emissions have climbed to approximately 352 million tonnes per year and are on track to reach 369 million tonnes by 2030 unless decisive interventions alter this path.

GROWING CHALLENGE DESPITE RISING MOMENTUM

For all the urgency, there has been an undeniable shift in global attention. Since the launch of the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) in 2021, an increasing number of countries have begun weaving methane-specific actions into their national climate plans.

As of mid-2025, 127 countries have included methane-focused policies in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), marking a substantial increase compared with pre-2020 commitments.

Still, the planned measures remain insufficient. If fully implemented, current national commitments would reduce emissions by only 8 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030, far short of the 30 per cent goal set by the GMP.