Germany's Sources of CH4 Emissions
Key Insights
2024 CH4 Emissions Profile
In 2024, Germany's anthropogenic methane emissions totalled around 55 megatonnes CO2e, dominated by livestock at around 32 megatonnes CO2e (about 58%). Waste and fugitive emissions were around 9.6 and 9.2 megatonnes CO2e (17% each); fuel combustion, crop production and other emissions were 4.3, 0.12 and 0.24 megatonnes CO2e. Over the ten years to 2024, all declined except fuel combustion: waste fell fastest, at around 4.9% annually, while fuel rose around 1.0% annually.
Historic Livestock Emissions
Livestock emissions began at around 21 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and generally rose to roughly 61 in 1979. They peaked at about 63 megatonnes CO2e in 1984, before declining steadily to around 32 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fugitive Emissions
Fugitive emissions started at around 1.3 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and climbed to roughly 41 by 1913. After marked fluctuations, including a near-zero low in 1946, they reached a peak of about 68 in 1963. Emissions then fell to around 9.2 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions began at around 1.1 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained low through 1939. They then rose rapidly, peaking at roughly 47 megatonnes CO2e in 1993, before declining to around 9.6 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Crop Emissions
Crop emissions were near zero until after 1947, then gradually increased to around 0.12 megatonnes CO2e by 2006. They peaked at roughly 0.14 megatonnes CO2e in 2008 and ended at around 0.12 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fuel Emissions
Fuel combustion emissions started at their record high of around 11 megatonnes CO2e in 1851, then declined to roughly 6 by the late 1930s. They recovered to around 10 in 1970, fell to about 3 in 2001, and rose modestly to around 4.3 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions were near zero in 1851 and became measurable around the mid-century. They rose to a peak of roughly 0.38 megatonnes CO2e in 1973, then declined and fluctuated at low levels, ending at around 0.24 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
Keep us going and growing
10,000 people are using Climate Change Tracker for free every month. A tiny monthly donation keeps us going!
Cancel anytime. Payments processed by Stripe.com. You can manage, upgrade, cancel, and download receipts in our self service portal on Stripe. Using Stripe you agree to Stripe's Privacy Policy.
More ways to donate
via PayPal
via DonorboxAbout the Data
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