The United Nations has issued a sharp warning that methane emissions are being tackled too slowly, just weeks ahead of the COP30 climate summit. The UN highlights that methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas – about 28 to 84 times more effective at capturing heat than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale.

Global anthropogenic methane emissions are estimated to be roughly 580 million tonnes annually. With human-caused methane responsible for roughly one-third of today’s warming, the urgency is clear. Yet despite this, efforts to control methane remain insufficient; the UN debated that methane emissions are being tackled too slowly to meet near-term climate goals.

Global Response Endures Weak Despite Urgency

Governments all over the world have made pledges – for example, under the Global Methane Pledge, whose goal is to decline global methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels. But progress is vacillating, and methane emissions are being tackled too slowly.

A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) displays that the energy sector individually generated nearly 145 million tonnes of methane emissions in 2024 – accounting for more than 35% of the human-caused total. In the meantime, national inventories significantly under-report methane: IEA found energy-sector emissions are about 70% greater than reported by governments.

In spite of being broadly available mitigation technologies, several major emitters have yet to scale action, reinforcing that methane emissions are being tackled too slowly in practice.

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Obstacles Delaying Progress on Methane Control

The following issues tie together to display that methane emissions are being tackled too slowly, eroding confidence that the 2030 targets can be met without a major acceleration of effort.

• Several countries still lack proper methane observing systems, which makes accurate data collection difficult.
• The oil and gas industry continues to resist a quick transition because of the high costs of leak detection and repair.
• Agricultural emissions remain largely unregulated, particularly from livestock and rice cultivation.
• Funding for methane-reduction projects in developing countries is far below the needed investment levels.

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The Bottom Line

As the COP30 summit approaches, the UN’s warning that methane emissions are being tackled too slowly serves as a wake-up call. Without rapid international coordination, powerful regulatory frameworks, and transparent tracking mechanisms, the world risks missing a crucial opportunity to decline near-term warming.

A UN official recently documented that “data-driven tools are ready, but governments and companies must engage at scale”. If nations commit to real action now, there is still hope – but this hope hinges on recognising that methane emissions are being tackled too slowly and modifying that fact before it’s too late.

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