Agricultural Methane Emission Reduction

At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has launched the Practical Guide for Including Agricultural Methane Emission Reduction Targets in Nationally Determined Contributions.

The Guidebook aims to helps countries to determine and integrate targets for the reduction of their methane emissions from livestock and rice production into their updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2025. It provides customisable strategies for methane reduction focusing on feasible and cost-effective actions such as improved water management in rice cultivation and feed additives for livestock, which can enhance productivity and reduce methane.

Since the Global Methane Pledge was launched at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, over 150 countries have committed to reduce methane emissions from all sources by 30 per cent below 2020 levels by the end of this decade. This would reduce warming by 0.2°C by 2050. In 2021, only 36 per cent of NDCs included specified measures that address agricultural methane emissions.

The Practical Guide is part of the wider Reducing Agricultural Methane Programme (RAMP), started in 2023 by IFAD with support from the Global Methane Hub and the U.S. State Department.

Investing in reduction of methane emissions is a win-win in limiting global temperature increases to less than 2.0 degrees Celsius, the goal set by 196 countries signing the Paris Agreement in 2015. Methane emissions are the second-largest contributor to global warming after C02, and methods to reduce them are well understood. Approximately 42 per cent of methane emissions comes from the agriculture sector, primarily originating from livestock through enteric fermentation and manure management, flooded rice cultivation and the burning of crop residues.

Although small-scale farmers emit far less emissions than large-scale and industrial farms, they can still contribute to mitigation efforts. With the right support, they can adopt methods to reduce methane emissions while safeguarding their incomes and livelihoods.

(IFAD/ile)

Read more and download the Guidebook on the IFAD website