Methane is an invisible greenhouse gas that is at least 86 times more dangerous to our climate than carbon dioxide in the short-term. It is the second biggest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide and has already driven a third of the warming since the Industrial Revolution. Reducing methane emissions is critical to slowing climate change.
The UK has shown some global leadership on methane. At COP26, it played a key role in launching the Global Methane Pledge. 159 countries and the European Commission have since joined the Pledge, agreeing to take voluntary actions to collectively reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
The UK’s leadership abroad must be matched by progress at home. Under current plans, the UK will cut its own methane emissions by 19.3 per cent by 2030. It must do better.
Farming and land use are responsible for 55 per cent of the UK’s methane emissions. Cattle are the biggest source. The next biggest source is the energy sector, mainly the oil and gas industry. Methane is the main component of fossil gas – and it leaks, or is intentionally vented, from oil sites and other coal, oil and gas infrastructure.
In 2021, researchers from Clean Air Task Force, an international climate advocacy NGO, discovered significant methane emissions from oil and gas facilities in the Weald and other parts of the UK. They used infrared cameras to film the usually invisible gas.
Stronger regulation is needed to address the leaks, flaring and venting from the oil and gas industry, both on and offshore. And a strong methane regulation must be backed up by robust measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification systems.
Singleton Forest Watch and the Weald Action Group network are working with other organisations in the UK Methane Campaign and UK Youth Methane Campaign, calling on the government for strong, enforceable domestic regulation that covers all oil and gas operations.
More resources:
UK Methane Campaign response to UK’s Methane Action Plan
The case for UK methane action: A fast, cost-effective climate win – article by Rebecca Tremain of the Clean Air Task Force, 25 June 2025
The climate emergency brake: an ambitious plan to cut UK methane emissions – report by Green Alliance published May 2025
Methane’s role in the climate emergency – article by the South East Climate Alliance, 19 March 2022
SECA Knowledge Sharing: Methane – recording of an online held seminar held on 25 March 2022