China's Sources of CH4 Emissions
Key Insights
2024 CH4 Emissions Profile
China's anthropogenic methane emissions totalled around 1,500 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Fugitive emissions dominated at roughly 714 megatonnes CO2e (46.9%), rising by around 22 megatonnes CO2e per year over the ten years to 2024. Waste contributed about 365 (24.0%) and rose by around 9.6 yearly; livestock, 229 (15.1%), edged up by 0.4. Crop emissions were about 147 (9.7%), falling by 1.1 yearly; fuel was 57 (3.7%), down 1.8; other sources were 10 (0.7%), up 0.2.
Historic Livestock Emissions
Livestock emissions began at roughly 73 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and declined to around 66 by 1877. They then rose, accelerating after 1960, and peaked at approximately 273 megatonnes CO2e in 1996. Emissions subsequently declined overall, ending at around 229 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fugitive Emissions
Fugitive emissions began at zero in 1851 and remained low until the early 1950s, reaching around 17 megatonnes CO2e by 1951. They rose rapidly through the late twentieth century and accelerated after the late 1990s, reaching their peak of roughly 714 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions started at around 47 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and fell modestly to roughly 42 by 1880. They then increased gradually through 2001, reaching around 150, before growth accelerated sharply. Waste emissions peaked at approximately 365 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Crop Emissions
Crop emissions began near 84 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and declined to around 76 by 1881. They rose strongly from the mid-1950s, peaking at roughly 181 megatonnes CO2e in 1976. A gradual long-term decline followed, ending at around 147 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fuel Emissions
Fuel-combustion emissions began at roughly 44 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and dipped to around 39 by 1869. They then rose steadily, especially from the late 1960s, to a peak of approximately 110 megatonnes CO2e in 1991. They declined thereafter, ending at around 57 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other methane emissions were negligible in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, although they briefly reached around 0.05 megatonnes CO2e in 1942. They increased after 1950 and accelerated after 2004, rising from roughly 3.8 to a peak of around 10 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Background
The chart shows a national breakdown by source of the yearly methane (CH4) emissions from human activities expressed as weight in megatonnes (Mt). In the scientific literature, these are referred to as anthropogenic emissions. Human-induced methane emissions increase atmospheric methane, which is warming the Earth. The sources of human methane emissions are
- Livestock
- Fugitive emissions from the fossil fuel industry
- Crop production
- Fossil fuel combustion
- Waste management
- Other processes
Methane's Global Warming Potential
Methane has a much higher Global Warming Potential (GWP) than CO2. However, Methane emissions in the atmosphere decay with an average lifetime of about 12 years so its long term warming-effect is much less compared to CO2 which stays on average for hundreds of years in the atmosphere. Meaning: Methane's short term warming effect is much higher, but long term warming effect is much lower. A reduction in emissions can cause a rapid decline in its atmospheric levels.
Livestock
Livestock emits methane that is produced in the animals' digestive system. Most methane is emitted from the mouth during rumination. A much smaller amount of methane is emitted from the manure. Depending on how the manure is managed, i.e., wet or dry, more methane is emitted. Wet management leads to higher methane emissions than dry management. However, dry management also emits nitrous oxide (N2O), which is another potent greenhouse gas.
Fugitive emissions from fossil fuel industry
Fugitive methane emissions are from the intentional and accidental release of methane, which happens during the extraction, storage, and transportation processes in the fossil fuel industry. Examples are methane leaks during oil and gas handling, storage, transport, incomplete combustion, and many more. Also, methane is deliberately ventilated from mines during the extraction of coal.
Methane is a primary part of “gas”, also called “natural gas” or “fossil gas”. Natural gas is used, for example, for heating and electricity generation, whereby it emits CO2 during the combustion process. However, when natural gas leaks (unburned) it contains a lot of fugitive methane emissions.
Waste
Waste from landfills and wastewater produces a lot of methane when biodegradable material breaks down without oxygen.
Crop production
Crop production emissions are largely from rice cultivation, which generates large amounts of methane during plant growth. These emissions are from flooded paddies, which create the swamp-like environment of rice fields. There are agricultural techniques to reduce emissions significantly, like periodic drainage and aeration. Rice is the main staple for about half the world's population, and its emissions are a significant part of total human methane emissions.
Fuel combustion
Fuel combustion emissions are mostly from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. As mentioned before, natural gas consists largely of methane, and when the combustion does not happen completely, methane enters the atmosphere.
Other
Other human-induced methane emissions include industrial processes and product uses.
Wikipedia: Anthropogenic Sources of Atmospheric MethaneIPCC: AR6, 5.2.2.2 Anthropogenic CH4 emissions
Units and Measures
CH4 emissions are expressed in the total weight in megatonnes per year. 1 Megatonne is equal to 1 million tonnes.
Wikipedia: MegatonneWikipedia: Global warming potential
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National methane emissions data through 2024 is from the PRIMAP-hist dataset, which combines several published sources into a historical emissions time series.
The Key Insights paragraph was created using a large language model (LLM) in combination with our data, historic events, and a structured approach for best accuracy by separating the context generation from the interpretation and narrative.
Data Sources
PRIMAP-hist The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2024)
Update cycle: Every few monthsDelay: Less than 1 yearCredits: Gütschow, J.; Busch, D.; Pflüger, M. (2025): The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series v2.7 (1750-2024). zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17090760