Global methane action pays for itself at least six times over

Stoerk, Thomas, Rising, James, Shindell, Drew and Dietz, Simon ORCID: 0000-0001-5002-018X (2025) Global methane action pays for itself at least six times over. Science, 390 (6772). ISSN 0036-8075

Text (Combined revision round 2) - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (3MB)

• Scopus publication

Abstract

We provide a comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits and costs of global methane emissions abatement, anchored on the Global Methane Pledge. We use an integrated assessment model to estimate avoided climate damages at the global and country levels, including quantification of tipping points and risk. We further estimate air-quality cobenefits and methane abatement costs. We find that global methane action would be highly beneficial, yielding a benefit-cost ratio of at least six. It would provide larger benefits in lower-income countries, and it would reduce tipping point intensity and risk. We provide estimates of the social cost of methane to compare with previous literature and show that these estimates imply that key economies, such as the United States, European Union, and China, should be self-interested to abate methane emissions substantially.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences J Political Science
Date Deposited:	22 Aug 2025 08:39
Last Modified:	01 Dec 2025 04:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/129253

Actions (login required)

View Item