The UK urgently needs to cut its methane emissions by 2030: cows and sheep hold the key to success

Cow burps are a major contributor to methane emissions. Shutterstock

When it comes to climate change, the focus tends to be on carbon dioxide. But hot on its heels is methane (CH₄), the second most important greenhouse gas contributing to the climate emergency.

The UK, along with more than 100 other countries, made a pledge at the 2021 COP26 meeting in Glasgow to cut global methane emissions by at least 30% from their 2020 level by 2030.