Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture in United States
United States: Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture was 257.35 Mt CO2e in 2024. ▲ Rising
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture in United States, 1970–2024
Source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission. Measured in Mt CO2e.
Analysis
United States recorded 257.35 Mt CO2e for methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture in United States peaked at 271.44 Mt CO2e in 2020 and was at its lowest, 234.15 Mt CO2e, in 1991.
United States ranks 4th of 201 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture in United States, year by year
| Year | Mt CO2e | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 243.39 Mt CO2e | — |
| 1971 | 249.35 Mt CO2e | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 250.32 Mt CO2e | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 252.74 Mt CO2e | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 262.02 Mt CO2e | +3.7% |
| 1975 | 264.77 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 257.69 Mt CO2e | -2.7% |
| 1977 | 253.69 Mt CO2e | -1.6% |
| 1978 | 251.25 Mt CO2e | -1.0% |
| 1979 | 247.05 Mt CO2e | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 255.14 Mt CO2e | +3.3% |
| 1981 | 262.65 Mt CO2e | +2.9% |
| 1982 | 259.44 Mt CO2e | -1.2% |
| 1983 | 251.44 Mt CO2e | -3.1% |
| 1984 | 252.94 Mt CO2e | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 246.41 Mt CO2e | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 240.02 Mt CO2e | -2.6% |
| 1987 | 235.57 Mt CO2e | -1.9% |
| 1988 | 237.96 Mt CO2e | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 234.22 Mt CO2e | -1.6% |
| 1990 | 234.92 Mt CO2e | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 234.15 Mt CO2e | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 239.38 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 240.69 Mt CO2e | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 248.65 Mt CO2e | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 250.39 Mt CO2e | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 250.38 Mt CO2e | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 252.09 Mt CO2e | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 251.2 Mt CO2e | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 252.34 Mt CO2e | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 249.99 Mt CO2e | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 250.79 Mt CO2e | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 250.68 Mt CO2e | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 249.52 Mt CO2e | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 250.88 Mt CO2e | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 251.9 Mt CO2e | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 252.49 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 253.49 Mt CO2e | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 257.09 Mt CO2e | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 253.99 Mt CO2e | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 256.58 Mt CO2e | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 252.12 Mt CO2e | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 251.97 Mt CO2e | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 250.73 Mt CO2e | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 253.97 Mt CO2e | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 256.27 Mt CO2e | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 265.37 Mt CO2e | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 265.32 Mt CO2e | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 271.04 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 270.45 Mt CO2e | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 271.44 Mt CO2e | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 267.42 Mt CO2e | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 262.11 Mt CO2e | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 258.96 Mt CO2e | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 257.35 Mt CO2e | -0.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 257.35 Mt CO2e is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.5 Mt CO2e, 171.9× the median. (75 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 253.23 Mt CO2e | 243.39 Mt CO2e | 264.77 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1980s | 247.58 Mt CO2e | 234.22 Mt CO2e | 262.65 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1990s | 245.42 Mt CO2e | 234.15 Mt CO2e | 252.34 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2000s | 252.08 Mt CO2e | 249.52 Mt CO2e | 257.09 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2010s | 259.38 Mt CO2e | 250.73 Mt CO2e | 271.04 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2020s | 263.45 Mt CO2e | 257.35 Mt CO2e | 271.44 Mt CO2e | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.16 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.3672 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.624 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1269 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture in United States?
- Methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture in United States was 257.35 Mt CO2e in 2024, according to EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission.
- What is the highest methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 271.44 Mt CO2e in 2020.
- What is the lowest methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 234.15 Mt CO2e in 1991.
- How does United States rank for methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture?
- United States ranks 4th out of 201 countries with data for 2024.
- Is methane (ch4) emissions from agriculture rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, published as part of Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
A measure of annual emissions of methane (CH4), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agricultural sector. This includes emissions from livestock (IPCC 2006 codes 3.A.1 (enteric fermentation, 3.a.2 (manure management) and crops (IPCC 2006 codes 3.C.1 Emissions from biomass burning, 3.C.7 Rice cultivations). The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).