Cutting methane can save lives: Turning data into action

Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at UNEP, emphasises that reducing methane emissions can save lives by turning data into actionable solutions

The heatwaves in recent months across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East offered a stark view of how rapidly the climate is changing. In Europe alone, more than 10,000 excess deaths were recorded during one week of extreme temperatures. Scientists concluded that temperatures of this severity would have been virtually impossible without human-induced climate change.

This is prompting cities and communities around the world to prepare for a hotter planet. But adaptation alone cannot keep pace with continually rising temperatures. We must also slow the rate of warming.

Cutting methane emissions

Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest levers available to slow near-term temperature rise and complement efforts to reduce other greenhouse gases.

Methane is responsible for roughly one-third of the warming experienced today. Over the 20 years after it enters the atmosphere, it traps about 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide. But unlike carbon dioxide, which can remain in the atmosphere for centuries, methane has an atmospheric lifetime of about a decade. Reducing it now can, therefore, produce climate benefits relatively quickly, while improving air quality, protecting crops, and preventing premature deaths.

Finding and fixing large methane leaks, or ‘super‑emitters’, is among the low-hanging fruit for slashing emissions. Since the fossil fuel industry can also sell captured methane, this can even be profitable.

There is a broad coalition engaged in this effort. It includes 159 countries that have signed on to the Global Methane Pledge, committing to reduce human-caused methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 (relative to 2020 levels). It also includes the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, which encompasses nearly 160 companies representing nearly 45% of the world’s oil and gas production, over 80% of LNG flows, and over 10% of global gas storage capacity.

A Methane Alert and Response System

Until recently, the challenge was that many of these emissions remained invisible. In 2022, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) developed a Methane Alert and Response System (MARS).

Using more than 30 satellites and artificial intelligence, MARS helps detect methane emissions so large that they are visible from space. Alerts are issued to countries and operators, who are then encouraged to investigate, share information, and act. It has so far issued more than 7,500 alerts across 37 countries.

It is a climate solution that is already proving itself: In Algeria, fixing a decades‑long leak had the annual climate impact equivalent to half a million cars. All it took was for the operator to correct a valve issue and restore normal operations. Emissions from gas leaking from a well casing in Yemen were equivalent to more than 1.3 million cars before the operator addressed them. A corroded pipeline in Turkmenistan was emitting the equivalent of more than 300,000 cars. They were all fixed following UNEP-issued alerts over the last two years. Overall, MARS has enabled 42 mitigation cases across 11 countries. The sources in question were estimated to have released 1.2 million tonnes of methane equivalent to the annual emissions of 24 million gasoline-powered cars.

These examples show what is possible, but they also expose the response gap. In 2025, only a handful of early-moving countries have responded to most of the methane alerts they receive via MARS. With its partners, UNEP aims to help countries raise this rate to 80% by 2030. Governments can accelerate progress by appointing national MARS focal points, requiring operators to investigate alerts and report transparently on the action taken.

2025 Global Methane Status Report and more

Produced by UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the 2025 Global Methane Status Report finds that global methane emissions remain far too high. The latest projection is still 5% above 2020 emissions, instead of 30% below them. The Global Methane Pledge’s target is technically possible, but only if proven measures are deployed at full scale across energy, agriculture and waste.

Finally, to take on methane seriously, we must recognise that satellites are not a silver bullet and only see the largest emission sources. Roughly 85% of emissions go unseen by satellites, underscoring the need for comprehensive measurement and reporting on the ground.

UNEP’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 provides a powerful framework for industry to transition from outdated estimates to measurement-based inventories and is the basis for policies such as the European Union’s methane regulations.

Better monitoring and action are also needed beyond oil and gas. UNEP recently launched a global coal-mine methane database tracking emissions from around 200 mines. Meanwhile, emissions from landfills, livestock, and rice cultivation require a different mix of measurement, regulation, finance and practical support. These sources are often more dispersed and involve many more actors than the concentrated oil-and-gas industry.

Cutting methane from the oil and gas sector remains one of the lowest-hanging fruits in climate action. The technologies exist, the economic case is strong, and the benefits are immediate. But meaningful methane reductions will also require action across the waste and agriculture sectors, as highlighted in the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Methane. Through initiatives such as IMEO and the CCAC, UNEP is helping drive progress across all three sectors. The task now is clear: to turn better data and stronger political commitments into measurable emission reductions at every major source.