Methane emissions from the energy sector remained at near record levels in 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concludes.
Tackling the emissions could make billions of cubic metres (bcm) of gas available to international markets, a top priority as the war in the Middle East squeezes energy supplies, the IEA says.
“With methane emissions from the energy sector near record highs, tried-and-tested abatement measures could make 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas available annually,” the global methane tracker 2026 report says.
“If select countries with spare existing gas export capacity and importing countries were to implement readily accessible methane abatement measures across their gas systems, nearly 15 billion cubic metres of gas could very quickly be made available to markets.”
Over the longer term such measures “could deliver nearly 100bcm of gas to markets each year, while eliminating non-emergency gas flaring could unlock a further 100bcm”.
