Mexico's Sources of CH4 Emissions
Key Insights
2024 CH4 Emissions Profile
Mexico's anthropogenic methane emissions totalled around 148 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Livestock was the largest source, at roughly 69.5 megatonnes CO2e and 46.9%, followed closely by waste at around 62.8 megatonnes CO2e and 42.3%. Livestock rose by about 0.7 megatonnes CO2e per year and waste by 1.0 over the ten years to 2024. Fugitive emissions fell by around 0.3 per year to 11.9 megatonnes CO2e (8.0%), while crop and fuel emissions declined slightly to 0.9 (0.6%) and 3.1 megatonnes CO2e (2.1%). Other emissions were 0.09 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Livestock Emissions
Livestock emissions began at around 6.3 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose gradually to about 17 megatonnes CO2e by the early 1940s. Growth then accelerated, reaching roughly 58 megatonnes CO2e in 1984. Emissions increased more slowly thereafter, peaking at around 69.5 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fugitive Emissions
Fugitive emissions were negligible in the nineteenth century, reaching about 0.2 megatonnes CO2e by 1902 and around 4.1 by 1939. They rose strongly from about 3.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1970 to a peak of roughly 22.7 in 2008, then declined to around 11.9 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions started at roughly 1.1 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and increased gradually through the early twentieth century. Growth accelerated after the mid-1950s, rising from around 6.6 megatonnes CO2e to 29.3 by 1985. Emissions continued upward thereafter, reaching their peak of about 62.8 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Crop Emissions
Crop emissions began near 0.07 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained small until rising to around 1.2 by the mid-1960s. They then stayed near 1-1.6 megatonnes CO2e for several decades, peaking at roughly 1.6 in 2011. Emissions declined afterwards to around 0.9 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fuel Emissions
Fuel emissions rose gradually from around 0.4 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 3.5 by the late 1990s. They peaked at about 3.6 megatonnes CO2e in 2008, then declined modestly. By 2024, fuel emissions were around 3.1 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions were near zero until the late nineteenth century and remained very small throughout. They rose to a peak of roughly 0.09 megatonnes CO2e in 1969, fell to around 0.04 by 1987, and then gradually recovered. They ended at about 0.09 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