Poland's Sources of CH4 Emissions
Key Insights
2024 CH4 Emissions Profile
Poland's anthropogenic methane emissions totalled around 43.1 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Livestock was the largest source, at roughly 16.0 megatonnes CO2e (37.2%), followed by fugitive emissions at 13.9 megatonnes CO2e (32.2%) and waste at 9.1 megatonnes CO2e (21.0%). Over the ten years to 2024, fugitive emissions fell by around 0.6 megatonnes CO2e per year, while waste, livestock and crop emissions rose slightly. Fuel emissions declined modestly, and other emissions remained negligible.
Historic Livestock Emissions
Livestock emissions began at around 11.5 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and rose to roughly 24 megatonnes CO2e by the early 1950s. They then climbed sharply, peaking at about 37.1 megatonnes CO2e in 1975, before falling to around 17.0 megatonnes CO2e in 2001. In 2024, emissions were about 16.0 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Fugitive Emissions
Fugitive emissions started near 0.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and remained relatively low until the late 1940s. They then surged to a peak of roughly 110.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1979, followed by a steep decline through 2001 and continued reductions thereafter. In 2024, fugitive emissions were around 13.9 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions rose gradually from around 0.8 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to about 2.6 megatonnes CO2e in 1945, then increased rapidly. They peaked at roughly 18.5 megatonnes CO2e in 1988 and generally declined afterwards, reaching a low around 2015 before rising modestly. In 2024, emissions were about 9.1 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Crop Emissions
Crop emissions were near zero until around 1960, then increased slowly for several decades. Growth accelerated after the early 2010s, and emissions reached their highest level, around 0.18 megatonnes CO2e, in 2024.
Historic Fuel Emissions
Fuel-combustion emissions began at roughly 6.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 and peaked at about 7.8 megatonnes CO2e in 1890. They declined to around 3.1 megatonnes CO2e by the mid-1950s, then rose and fluctuated, reaching about 6.4 megatonnes CO2e in 1987. In 2024, emissions were around 3.9 megatonnes CO2e.
Historic Other Emissions
Other methane emissions began close to zero in 1851, rose gradually, and peaked at roughly 0.09 megatonnes CO2e in 1965. They generally declined thereafter and reached around 0.02 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