​According to this study, anthropogenic emissions account for about 60% of all methane emissions. Livestock (ruminants) and agriculture (rice) account for about 36%. Commonly accepted natural emissions (flooded areas, lakes, termites, geological degassing, hydrates, etc.) are likely overestimated. The degassing of methane formed more than 50,000 years ago could account for up to 30% of total emissions, including 21% from coal, oil and gas and 9% from geological sources.

Considering the increasing importance of methane, the greenhouse gas emission scenarios developed by climatologists to simulate the future climate must now be consistent with this new data. Yet not a single scenario in the 5th IPCC report takes recent observations into account —a gap that needs to be filled.

More than 80 researchers from various specialties contributed to this very detailed assessment of highly diverse methane sources. Similar to the global carbon budget, that of methane will have to be updated on a regular basis. Limiting global warming to 2 °C will not only imply reducing our carbon emissions, it will also be necessary to reduce those of methane.