Assessing the causes of anthropogenic methane emissions in comparative perspective, 1990-2005

The authors engage prior research and theoretical orientations to assess some of the known causes of anthropogenic methane emissions in comparative international contexts. Like carbon dioxide emissions, methane emissions are a known contributor to climate change. Results of cross-national fixed effects panel regression analyses indicate that population size, economic development, the production of cereals, cattle, natural gas and oil, and a reliance on food exports all contribute to methane emissions from 1990 to 2005. Most notably, additional findings suggest that the magnitude of the effects of multiple predictors modestly decreased during the period of investigation, while the impact of other predictors remained very stable in magnitude. The authors conclude by considering the substantive implications of the results, the limitations of the study, and outline the next steps in this research agenda.