Singapore's Sources of CH4 Emissions
Key Insights
2024 CH4 Emissions Profile
Singapore's anthropogenic methane emissions totalled around 5.4 megatonnes CO2e in 2024. Waste dominated, at roughly 4.9 megatonnes CO2e or 89.6% of emissions, rising by about 0.12 megatonnes CO2e per year over the ten years to 2024. Fugitive emissions were around 0.4 megatonnes CO2e (7.1%) and declining, while fuel combustion, other emissions and livestock made up small shares. Fuel was broadly stable, while other emissions rose slightly and livestock fell.
Historic Livestock Emissions
Livestock emissions rose from around 0.008 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to roughly 0.1 by the early 1940s, then climbed sharply to a peak of about 0.3 megatonnes CO2e in 1973. They fell rapidly to around 0.002 by 1993 and ended at approximately 0.001 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fugitive Emissions
Fugitive emissions were near zero until the mid-1930s, although they briefly reached around 0.2 megatonnes CO2e in 1956 before falling back. They then rose from about 0.009 in 1966 to a peak of roughly 0.5 megatonnes CO2e in 2005, ending at around 0.4 in 2024.
Historic Waste Emissions
Waste emissions rose from around 0.009 megatonnes CO2e in 1851 to approximately 0.4 by 1981. Growth accelerated thereafter, reaching roughly 1.1 in 1996, before continuing upward to a peak of about 4.9 megatonnes CO2e in 2024.
Historic Fuel Emissions
Fuel emissions were near zero through the late 1940s. They briefly peaked at roughly 0.05 megatonnes CO2e in 1956, then fell to around 0.02 by 1971. Emissions subsequently increased gradually, reaching about 0.1 megatonnes CO2e in 2024, just below their 2017 peak.
Historic Other Emissions
Other emissions were near zero until around 1980. They rose gradually to roughly 0.02 megatonnes CO2e by 2002, then increased further to a peak of about 0.08 in 2023. They ended at approximately 0.08 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