By Rhys Talbot 

May 8, 2025 - Emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from the energy sector did not fall in 2024 despite widespread pledges to cut them, as few countries have delivered solid plans, according to energy watchdog the IEA.

Methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector totalled around 120mn t last year, the organisation said in its global tracker released today. This is in line with emissions in recent years, which have held roughly steady since 2019.

The gas has contributed to around 30pc of human-induced global warming since the industrial revolution, the agency said. Four countries — China, Russia, the US and Iran — were responsible for more than 50pc of fossil fuel-related methane emissions last year, with a 20pc, 16pc, 11pc and 5pc share, respectively.

Fossil-fuel related methane emissions have held steady, but methane intensity has dropped slightly since 2019, as hydrocarbon production has increased, the IEA said. The watchdog has brought new emissions sources within its remit, integrating emissions from abandoned facilities, including coal mines, for the first time. These sites were responsible for 7.7mn t of emissions in 2024, it found, of which 70pc comes from just three countries — China with 36pc, the US with 21pc and Russia with 12pc.

Fossil fuel-related methane emissions, 2024 mn t

Around three quarters of global hydrocarbon by country of origin, and half by producing firm, falls under voluntary agreements to cut methane emissions, including the Global methane pledge aiming to cut emissions by 30pc by 2030 from 2020. Only 5pc of oil and gas emissions is currently produced under verifiable near-zero emissions standards, the IEA said.

It has doubled its estimate of methane released by bioenergy, to 20mn t from 10mn t, largely from incomplete combustion of traditional biomass, with India accounting for a fifth of the total. Around 2mn t comes from biogas and biomethane. Leaks from biogas and biomethane production sites can undermine or entirely cancel out the benefit of switching to these fuels from natural gas, it said. It estimates methane intensity from biogas and biomethane — the proportion of produced gas which leaks — at 8pc and 4pc in Asia-pacific and Europe respectively, the two leading regions in the sector.

The IEA estimates that 30pc of fossil fuel-related emissions could have been abated at no net cost, down from its estimate of 40pc of last year because of falls in gas prices.

The current round of updates of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — plans to cut emissions — offers an opportunity to increase ambition, the IEA said. Only 30 NDCs as of 2024 laid out specific measures for targeting methane, while only nine had precise targets. But China last year announced that its NDC would cover all greenhouse gases.

US Methane

The IEA predicts a 35pc fall in US energy-related methane emissions by 2030, despite rollbacks of Biden-era methane initiatives since the beginning of Donald Trump's second presidency.

Trump in March blocked a rule which would have obliged producers to pay $900/t for methane emissions, slated to cut fugitive emissions from the US' sprawling gas industry.

But some state laws remain on the books, the IEA said, such as limits to venting and flaring in New Mexico and Colorado. And some US firms are still members of emissions cut partnerships such as the UN methane initiative and the oil and gas decarbonisation charter.

US producers can still deploy abatement projects which have a positive rate of return, allowing more gas to be brought to market, the IEA said. But lower gas prices in the US compared to prevailing global markets could lessen the incentive for US producers to cut emissions in the absence of binding regulations.