Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste in North America

North America: Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste was 178.39 Mt CO2e in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
178.39 Mt CO2e
Change on year
up 0.5%
All-time high
274.57 Mt CO2e
in 1987
All-time low
177.17 Mt CO2e
in 2022
Years of data
55
1970–2024

Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste in North America, 1970–2024

0100200300197019972024

Source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission. Measured in Mt CO2e.

Analysis

North America recorded 178.39 Mt CO2e for methane (ch4) emissions from waste in 2024.

The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, methane (ch4) emissions from waste in North America peaked at 274.57 Mt CO2e in 1987 and was at its lowest, 177.17 Mt CO2e, in 2022.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 55 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 245.38 Mt CO2e 225 Mt CO2e 255.09 Mt CO2e 10
1980s 265.31 Mt CO2e 256.49 Mt CO2e 274.57 Mt CO2e 10
1990s 244.93 Mt CO2e 215.87 Mt CO2e 257.35 Mt CO2e 10
2000s 203.27 Mt CO2e 193.03 Mt CO2e 212 Mt CO2e 10
2010s 185.42 Mt CO2e 180.04 Mt CO2e 194.63 Mt CO2e 10
2020s 179.19 Mt CO2e 177.17 Mt CO2e 182.32 Mt CO2e 5

More environment data for North America

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is methane (ch4) emissions from waste in North America?
Methane (ch4) emissions from waste in North America was 178.39 Mt CO2e in 2024, according to EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission.
What is the highest methane (ch4) emissions from waste recorded in North America?
The highest recorded value was 274.57 Mt CO2e in 1987.
What is the lowest methane (ch4) emissions from waste recorded in North America?
The lowest recorded value was 177.17 Mt CO2e in 2022.
Is methane (ch4) emissions from waste rising or falling in North America?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this North America data come from?
The figures come from EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, published as part of Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste (Mt CO2e). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste (Mt CO2e)
Unit
Mt CO2e
Source
EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
250 places, 13,750 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

A measure of annual emissions of methane (CH4), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the waste sector. This includes emissions from solid waste (IPCC 2006 codes 4.A Solid Waste Disposal, 4.B Biological Treatment of Solid Waste, 4.C Incineration and Open Burning of Waste) and wastewater treatment (IPCC 2006 code 4.D Wastewater Treatment and Discharge). The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).