Per Capita Methane Emissions by Sector

• This interactive resource provides students with the opportunity to explore the per capita sources of methane emissions globally or for specific countries.
• The data begins in 1990 and is broken out by sector.
  

Positives

• This resource clearly shows students where most methane emissions on a per capita basis come from and how they have changed over time.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should know how to read a line graph and be familiar with the term fugitive emissions.
  

Differentiation

• Cross-curricular connections could be made with social studies and chemistry classes.
  
• Students may want to explore the topic further with these resources: Methane Emissions, Natural Gas: Water and Climate Impacts, How to Change Your Diet to Fight Climate Change, and The Environmental Impacts of Food Data Explorer.
  
• 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.
  

The resource used 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 per capita. Recommended for teaching.