The atmospheric methane growth rates of the 2020s far exceed the latest baseline projections; methane emissions need to drop rapidly (as do CO₂ emissions) to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C.

The abrupt and rapid increase in methane growth rates in the early 2020s is likely attributable largely to the response of wetlands to warming with additional contributions from fossil fuel use, in both cases implying that anthropogenic emissions must decrease more than expected to reach a given warming goal.

Rapid reductions in methane emissions this decade are essential to slowing warming in the near future, limiting overshoot by the middle of the century and keeping low-warming carbon budgets within reach.

Methane and CO₂ mitigation are linked, as land area requirements to reach net zero CO₂ are about 50–100 million ha per GtCO₂ removal via bioenergy with carbon capture and storage or afforestation; reduced pasture is the most common source of land in low-warming scenarios.

Strong, rapid, and sustained methane emission reduction is part of the broader climate mitigation agenda and complementary to targets for CO₂ and other long-lived greenhouse gases, but a net zero target specifically for methane is neither necessary nor plausible.

Many mitigation costs are low relative to real-world financial instruments and very low compared with methane damage estimates, but legally binding regulations and widespread pricing are needed to encourage the uptake of even negative cost options.