Methane emissions in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Methane emissions was 43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
40th
of 199 countries
All-time high
162.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1965
All-time low
43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Methane emissions in United Kingdom, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents for methane emissions in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 175 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, methane emissions in United Kingdom peaked at 162.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1965 and was at its lowest, 43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 2024.
That places United Kingdom 40th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 59.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 56.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 62.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 71.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 66.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 75.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 82.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 76.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 84.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 92.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 88.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 97.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 101.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 92.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 110.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 116.24 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 110.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 122.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 123.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 119.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 128.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 116.68 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 87.49 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 127.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 120.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 113.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 126.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 132.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 126.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 141.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 153.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 142.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 159.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 159.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 155.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 162.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 148.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 142.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 156.67 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 135.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 113.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 144.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 125.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 106.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 137.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 79.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 58.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 100.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 45.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 53.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 44.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
- 37 Venezuela 47.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 38 Spain 44.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 39 Poland 44.50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 41 Angola 43.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 42 Mongolia 42.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 43 Italy 40.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for United Kingdom
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.7% (2100)
- Population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Population, total 69.49 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Urban population 57.90 million (2025)
- Urban population 83.3% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 4.53 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 80.08 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 4.53 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 4.53 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is methane emissions in United Kingdom?
- Methane emissions in United Kingdom was 43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest methane emissions recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 162.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1965.
- What is the lowest methane emissions recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024.
- How does United Kingdom rank for methane emissions?
- United Kingdom ranks 40th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is methane emissions rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Methane emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.