15% of farm emissions come from rice paddies

Around 15% of agricultural emissions come from methane-producing micro-organisms in rice paddies, according to the

World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future co-issued by the World Resources Institute, World Bank, UN Environment Programme, and UN Development Programme.

The report says researchers have identified some common rice varieties that emit less methane than others, and they’ve bred one experimental strain that reduces methane emissions by 30% in the laboratory.

But there is no consistent effort in any country to breed and encourage the uptake of low-methane rice varieties.