Paris, Mar 13 (EFE).- The International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday that reducing methane emissions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would require about $170 billion.

“A 75 percent cut in methane emissions from fossil fuels by 2030 is imperative to stop the planet from warming to a dangerous level,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

Reaching this target would require $170 billion, less than five percent of the income generated by the fossil fuel industry in 2023, IEA said in its report Global Methane Tracker published on Wednesday.

According to the report, fossil fuels emitted almost 120 million tons of methane in 2023. Bioenergy, a form of renewable energy generated by plant and animal waste, caused another 10 million tons of emissions.

Around 80 million tons of methane emission came from just 10 countries, where the United States topped the list of emitters in the oil and gas industry, and China was the biggest emitter of the gas in the coal sector.

According to the IEA analysis, around 40 percent of emissions from fossil fuel could have been avoided at no net cost “since the value of the captured methane was higher than the cost of the abatement measure.”

Methane is responsible for almost a third of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, IEA said.

While methane dissipates faster than carbon dioxide, it is more powerful during its short lifespan.

“Driving down methane emissions is one of the best ways to limit global warming and improve air quality in the near term,” IEA said. EFE

ac/up/sc