Agricultural methane emissions in the euro area, the United States and China

Agricultural methane emissions come from livestock, rice paddies, and residue burning. These emissions play a role in global warming and climate change, along with carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels. To assess the impact of gases, they are standardized as CO2 equivalents. Methane, for example, is 21 times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat over a century. Countries report their emissions to the United Nations according to guidelines set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Understanding these emissions is critical to monitoring and addressing climate change in agriculturally dependent regions, both for environmental protection and food security. The figure shows emissions rates in the euro area, the United States, and China from 2000 to 2008