Rice fields are a major source of planet-warming methane, but a new variety could help change that.

by YCC Team

Curry, stir-fry, sushi, jambalaya … whatever’s on the menu tonight, there’s a good chance it includes rice.

Schnürer: “Rice is consumed by many people on Earth.”

And Anna Schnürer of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences says demand for the grain is growing as populations rise.

But producing rice typically emits a lot of methane – a powerful global warming gas.

The methane is produced by microorganisms that thrive in the flooded fields where rice is grown. They break down organic compounds that are secreted by the rice plants’ roots and in the process, release methane.

So Schnürer and her team identified a rice variety that naturally produces much less of one of those organic compounds. But it does not produce large harvests.

Schnürer: “Then we cross-bred this variety with a high-yielding commercial variety, and by doing so, we could get new varieties that both had high yield and low methane production.”

She says one variety they’ve tested produces about 70% less methane.

Schnürer: “It really reduced the methane emissions a lot.”

She hopes that in a few years, it will be commercially available, so farmers can grow more rice for the world withoutcreating a lot more climate pollution.

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media

Published Date: April 29, 2025