Pathways Explorer
South America Regional Overview
The majority of methane emissions in South America are generated by the agriculture sector, which accounted for 70% of total emissions in 2020. The waste sector accounted for less than 19% of emissions, while the energy sector accounted for 7%. Methane emissions are on track to rise with economic development, which tends to increase meat consumption, waste generation and energy consumption per capita.
Livestock are the largest source of emissions. Most of these emissions are generated by enteric fermentation, a methane-generating digestive process in ruminant animals. As the major cattle producers in the region, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, account for the most methane emissions. These emissions are set to rise as cattle production is projected to increase.
Nonetheless, each country has a unique methane emissions profile. The waste sector is a major source of emissions in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, while Brazil generates the most energy-sector emissions as the largest oil-and-gas producer in the region.
Most South American countries have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and outlined targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the United Nations. Additionally, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay have signed on to the Global Methane Pledge, a commitment to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, relative to 2020 levels.
Mitigation Measures
Solution Implementation Rate
Scenario Playback
Methane Emissions By Country - 2030
Methane Budget - All of South America
A methane budget is an estimate of how much methane can be emitted into the atmosphere before surpassing a specific level of global warming. A methane budget is an overall cap for emissions moving forward, not a target for a specific year or other time frame.
To avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, most countries are shooting for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendation to limit global warming to 1.5°C. South America can align with this goal by limiting its methane emissions to 17,919.4 ktCH4/yr.
The graph below illustrates methane budgets for limiting global warming to 1.5, 2, 3, 3.5 and 4°C. It is based on the methane budgets the IPCC developed for Latin America and the Caribbean in its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). To calculate methane budgets for South America, the project team calculated an average of multiple IPCC methane emissions models and scenarios for the LAC region and estimated the portion corresponding to each South American country.
Methane Budget (ktCH4)
Climate Pathway C1: Limit warming to 1.5°C (>50%) with no or limited overshoot
Financial Cost & Savings - All of South America
Reducing methane requires a substantial investment. At the same time, many solutions for reducing methane generate income or savings. For example, improving building energy efficiency to reduce natural gas use results in lower energy bills for families and businesses. By placing manure in an anaerobic digester, rather than leaving it to decompose and emit methane, farmers can create a valuable fuel (biogas) and fertilizer. Methane emitted by landfills can be captured and used to produce electricity that can be sold to the grid.
You can explore the costs and benefits (income and savings) of different actions in the graph below by selecting actions and level of implementation in the left hand column.
Social Benefits - All of South America
Methane emissions contribute to air pollution and harm peoples’ health, causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. We quantified the health benefits associated with reducing pollution related to methane emissions in terms of mortality associated with air pollution and heat per tonne of methane decreased.
You can explore avoided emissions and the health benefits of different actions in the graphs and table below by selecting actions and level of implementation in the left hand column. The second graph illustrates the benefit value of methane reduction actions by including the monetary value of each avoided death due to air pollution. When combined, the benefit value and financial returns outweigh the costs of actions.
Cumulative Avoided Deaths By Sector 2020 - 2030
| Sector | Cardiovascular Disease | Heat | Respiratory | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0 (0/yr) | 0 (0/yr) | 0 (0/yr) | 0 (0/yr) |