Methane Emissions by Sector

• This interactive graph and chart show the sources and quantities of methane emissions.
• Students can view global data or view the data by country.

Positives

• This resource clearly shows students where most methane emissions come from and how they have changed over time.
• Students can click on the graph to view the data for a specific year. 

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should know how to read a line graph and be familiar with the term fugitive emissions.
• Note that the methane emissions are calculated on a 100-year CO₂ equivalency scale, so the 20-year values would be significantly higher due to methane's short (10-12 years) residence time in the atmosphere.

Differentiation

• Cross-curricular connections could be made with social studies and chemistry classes.
• Students may want to explore the topic further with this media literacy activity on natural gas, this video on reducing meat consumption to fight climate change, this report on plant rich diets, and this data explorer on the environmental impacts of food.

The resource used the GWP method to normalize these F gases units into a single unit expressed in CO₂e calculated on a 100-year time scale. This method is appropriate as it considered the residence time of CH₄ - CO₂ emissions. The resource is recommended for teaching.