For Bangladeshis, the threat of climate change may seem to exist outside their daily lives—a looming disaster that must be addressed by governments and scientists. Yet, climate change may already be inside them, in the chemical reactions of their bodies as they go about their day-to-day routines. As scientists have long known, cow burps and manure piles release methane into the atmosphere.
In Bangladesh, where most people live on a diet rich in rice and chili peppers and keep animals like cows and ducks in backyards, agriculture and waste are increasingly recognised as large sources of methane emissions, which are currently estimated to total approximately 0.52 million metric tons every year. That number may seem small next to India or China, but methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential of over 80 times that of carbon dioxide over the first two decades after it is released.
The global increase in greenhouse gases including methane is rapidly escalating global warming and exacerbating the impacts of climate change for Bangladesh. Climate change is increasingly impacting Bangladesh’s agricultural sector, which is critical to the country’s economy and food security. In 2022, extreme rainfall led to widespread flooding, with a third of the country being submerged, highlighting the critical need for climate resilience.
To address these growing challenges, there is a need to quantify and reduce the levels of methane emissions, which are currently affecting Bangladesh’s food security and exacerbating the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and human populations. The impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity, including reduced soil fertility, changed rainfall patterns, and increased pest infestations are all closely linked to levels of greenhouse gases including methane.
Methane has to come into the focus of the policymakers now more than ever, for the gas is not only highly potent causing rapid global warming but also impacts in a negative way the building back better in the wake of environmental disasters. By embedding methane reduction into their national policies and programmes, the country can be steered off disastrous trajectory. Contrary to other long lived greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, carbon tetradefluro- octane and trifluoroprene etc which remain in the atmosphere for decades to come, methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifespan.
Most importantly available cost effective solutions are already there for reduction and capture of methane emissions from all relevant sources like livestock and waste management through anaerobic digestion, agricultural sources like paddy fields and several other potential sources with appropriate handling.
All these technologies reduce methane emissions but also generate benefits for livelihoods and the economy, especially in rural. By tackling methane emissions as part of its climate response strategy, Bangladesh can sustain its agricultural sector and save the livelihoods of millions while also contributing to global efforts to combat climate change. Methane emissions have serious repercussions on the environment and are increasing the problems associated with climate change.
The impact is palpable and evident, and it is hurting the people. For instance, areas such as Khulna—already prone to flooding due to its low-lying geography—are experiencing increased frequency and severity of flooding due to increasing levels of methane. Analysis shows that areas with high levels of methane leakage from agriculture and waste management are increasingly contributing to the risk of floods, where ordinary tides are turning into torrential inundation inundating homes and uprooting families.
People living near banks of big rivers and rain-dependent lakes and wetlands have gripping tales of sudden submergence. “It was fish time and then the water engulfed the land forever,” says Monira, a fisherwoman of Tangier Parish in Bangladesh. Her community is wrestling with growing challenges that have been brought about by the changing climate, rising temperatures and methane emissions.
While immediate effects of these are sudden rises in temperature and unpredictable changes in weather, long-term impacts are often about reducing agricultural productivity and thus sustainability of the sector. Crop yields have plummeted in Tangier because instead of consistent wet or dry seasons, the area experiences sudden bursts of flooding followed by long droughts.
As temperatures climb, the psychological fallout from unchecked methane emissions enters new territory: climate change is now an imminent psychological disaster for millions. For communities like those living on the Bay of Bengal, one of the world’s most biodiverse and important bodies of water that support massive numbers of people who rely on it for food and livelihoods, the consequences are already being felt. Methane, the potent greenhouse gas emitted as a result of human activity, is altering ecosystems on which communities rely for survival.
Rafiq is a fisherman who lives on the Bay of Bengal and reports that the fish he used to haul in are now gone. “It’s as if the sea is getting sick,” he says. Like so many others who rely on the Bay for their living, Rafiq is unsure what to do or why this is happening. But one thing is clear: As marine life declines in quality and quantity, it is not just individual lives that are affected, but long-standing cultures and ways of life as well.
These combined difficulties faced by communities such as those of farmer Rafiq and housewife Monira are those felt by millions of people around the world, and they should prompt an urgent public discussion on the need for global action. But what is often overlooked is the insidious role that climate change could play, through increasing levels of methane in the atmosphere. And for Bangladesh, tackling this problem is not simply an environmental issue - it is crucial to the very existence of the country in the future.
Methane has long been recognised as a highly potent greenhouse gas, and levels of the pollutant are on the rise, exacerbated by human activity. Tackling the growing issue of methane emissions in Bangladesh requires a holistic set of actions to be incorporated into national policy.
Incentivising the adoption of biogas technology, currently used in limited forms in Bangladesh to generate energy from crop waste, manure and other organic material, could be a step in the right direction. By introducing government-backed subsidies or low-interest farming loans to install biogas systems, the government could kick-start a shift away from open-field urine and dung dumping and towards renewable energy. The potential gains are large: farmers could harvest more crops as their manure is used to produce energy, while household women would have a new reliable source of fuel for cooking.
A. Reducing food loss and waste emissions from production and consumption
Capturing and safely managing waste and losses along the whole food value chain, from harvesting right through to retail and consumption, can help mitigate climate change. By avoiding food waste, reducing avoidable food loss during consumption and encouraging a cultural change in food habits and consumption patterns, we can generate significant emissions reductions and substantial new economic opportunities, transforming the way we produce and consume food. Reducing food waste and loss on farms can increase profit through better sales and lower loss, and can also make the most of leftover parts of plants to feed animals and create energy.
B. Enhancing urban waste management for organic reduction
Improper management of organic waste in urban areas exacerbates climate change through the release of methane from landfills. Community-organized waste segregation and composting can significantly reduce these emissions. Local governments and NGOs must establish efficient waste management systems through community-based collection and recycling for minimizing generation of organic waste and manage the existing organic waste by composting.
There are also great opportunities to reduce emissions from agricultural activities by promoting sustainable agriculture practices and technologies that can reduce the production of methane from enteric digestion in domestic animals, as well as from wet rice cultivation. In many regions, livestock and rice farmers are not provided with adequate information or incentives to adopt low-emission technologies and practices.
Now is the time to make sure efforts to reduce methane emissions are woven into our national policy in a meaningful way. Reducing methane emissions should continue to be good for the environment, but also good for our economy and public health
The government could partner with some international organisations and conduct training programs to inform farmers on low-emission practices and technologies, such as better manure management and integrated crop and animal production systems. Incentives could also be offered, such as low-interest loans, tax breaks, grants and repayable grants to support the testing and adoption of such practices. The government could provide seed funding for ongoing pilots in different regions to test technologies and strategies.
Technologies for reducing and capturing human–produced methane exist. What is needed for their effective deployment is cooperation between governmental bodies, NGOs and international stakeholders. The first step would be for the government to establish a task force dedicated to the issues of capture and utilisation of human–produced methane. This task force should interact with local health, environmental and agricultural ministries and departments.
We engage communities and help them adopt new approaches to reducing methane. Community leaders play important roles as advocates of cost-effective and innovative ways to reduce methane within their own communities. Public awareness of the dangers of methane and the benefits of alternatives can help to drive change through community-wide education efforts.
Methane emissions in Bangladesh need to be addressed on an urgent basis and by using a combination of policy instruments — promoting biogas technology, improving waste management practices and incorporating climate-smart agriculture practices — Bangladesh can face the challenges of climate change. Addressing methane emissions is key to achieving climate resilience in the country.
Development and sustainability are interlinked and very soon Bangladesh needs to address these challenges to build resilience against climate change. The impacts of increased methane emissions will not only be environmental in nature but also pose a serious threat to food security and public health and need to be addressed in an integrative manner. Time is ticking away and each hour that passes without adopting appropriate strategies will cost us to further drift away from our solutions.
Now is the time to make sure efforts to reduce methane emissions are woven into our national policy in a meaningful way. Reducing methane emissions should continue to be good for the environment, but also good for our economy and public health. Technology can further develop in the agricultural sector, solid waste practices can be improved, and industry-wide limits can be established to curb emissions.
I’m making the point that a huge burden will rest on the government’s shoulders, but it won’t get very far without public awareness, pressure and participation. If we start making more people aware of the destructive impact of methane, we will naturally start a movement of people fighting for the necessary changes. Whether through advocating more sustainable practices in the agriculture industry or reducing food waste in our communities, we all play roles in fixing the problems we, and our parents, have created. Governments, businesses, and regular individuals must join forces to face and convert this crisis into a catalyst for progress.
We really need to start paying attention to the threat posed by methane in Bangladesh and start taking concrete steps to manage it. A smart, proactive climate strategy will prioritise reducing human-driven methane emissions as part of a broader set of solutions to build a resilient future – one that is good for the economy, good for health, and good for the environment. The silent menace of methane can be countered and Bangladesh can build a better future – one that is more equitable and sustainable for everyone.
* Shahriar Hossain is an environmental scientist, journalist, and Social Justice advocate, involved in Climate and plastic treaty negotiations. Contact: [email protected]