This past week, I attended an event in Dhaka that will likely go down in history as a watershed moment for Bangladesh. Our country formally joined a global movement to rein in methane emissions, particularly from the agricultural sector.
With the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP31, scheduled for November 9-20, 2026, the timing could not be more opportune. This strategic move allows Bangladesh to arrive on the global stage with a powerful, demonstrable commitment to curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh formally joined AcceLER (Accelerating Scaling of Low-Emissions Rice in Southeast Asia). The initiative is designed to help countries plan, implement, and track effective methane mitigation measures.
Through a combination of suitability mapping, robust monitoring systems, remote sensing, and institutional capacity building, several major Asian rice-producing economies -- including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia -- are already benefiting from the program. Now, Bangladesh joins their ranks, aiming to substantially reduce the climate impact of its paddy fields.
The scale of the challenge
Rice occupies three-fourths of Bangladesh’s cultivated land. It remains fundamental to national food security, rural employment, and smallholder livelihoods.
The irrigated Boro rice ecosystem is the country's most productive agricultural system, supplying about 55% of domestic production between December and May. However, its heavy reliance on groundwater and prolonged flooding makes it a major source of methane emissions.
Methane emissions from rice cultivation in Bangladesh are estimated at 32.4 MtCO₂e (million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), making rice one of the country's largest sources of methane.
To put this figure into perspective, 32.4 MtCO₂e is roughly equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 7.7 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles, the annual electricity consumption of 6.3 million homes, or the amount of carbon sequestered by 535 million tree seedlings grown for a decade.
Methane is an extremely potent super-pollutant -- 86 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period -- which means curbing these emissions can help prevent catastrophic climate change.
It is responsible for about 30% of recent global warming. Furthermore, methane contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, which harms human health and reduces crop yields. Cutting methane emissions is among the fastest and most effective ways to slow the rise in global temperatures.
Breaking old habits
The primary driver of these high emissions is the continuous presence of irrigation water in rice fields. Over the decades, well-intentioned initiatives, such as canal excavation and heavily subsidized irrigation water pumped through tube wells, have entrenched farming practices that rely on prolonged flooding. Continuously flooding croplands during the dry Boro season has come at a considerable environmental cost.
Today, this agricultural system faces growing challenges from declining groundwater levels, soaring irrigation costs, high energy consumption, and severe climate risks.
Fortunately, practical solutions exist. Water-saving practices, such as alternate wetting and drying (AWD), improved nutrient management through techniques like fertilizer deep placement, direct seeded rice (DSR), and short-duration rice varieties, can significantly reduce emissions by limiting the prolonged oxygen-deprived conditions that encourage methane-producing bacteria.
Instead of keeping fields permanently flooded, AWD requires farmers to allow water levels to fall periodically, exposing the soil to air. The resulting influx of oxygen suppresses methane production, significantly reducing emissions while conserving increasingly depleted groundwater resources.
Data, technology, and the path forward
Historically, methane emissions have been difficult to measure, making it challenging for governments to take effective action. Today, advanced satellite technologies offer greater transparency, helping authorities identify emission sources more accurately.
Since about 60% of methane emissions come from human activities, access to open, reliable data is essential for policymakers, scientists, and industry leaders to collaborate across borders.
Building on these technological advances, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) recently brought together government agencies, researchers, and development partners in Dhaka to strengthen Bangladesh's capacity for the measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr Humnath Bhandari, who has headed IRRI's operations in Bangladesh for many years, highlighted digital MRV as a promising, affordable, and accurate way to track progress on a large scale. By mapping the extent to which farmers have adopted low-methane technologies, authorities can design more targeted and effective interventions.
Learning from our neighbors
Bangladesh can draw inspiration from its neighbours. On the sidelines of the Dhaka event, Dr Bjoern Ole Sander, an IRRI senior scientist and climate change mitigation team lead who heads the institute's operations in Thailand, shared how the organization has helped millions of Thai farmers transition to low-emission rice production across 100,000 hectares in six provinces.
While Thailand is a net rice exporter, Bangladesh remains structurally vulnerable. Despite being the world's third-largest rice producer, the country frequently relies on imports because of its high per capita rice consumption and a population that grows by around two million people annually. This vulnerability is compounded by crop losses caused by floods and other disasters.
Scaling up science-based, transparent low-emission practices is no longer optional; it is a priority for the country's long-term food security and climate resilience. By successfully implementing the AcceLER initiative, Bangladesh stands to reap significant benefits:
- Demonstrating its commitment to global climate goals; Advancing its national methane mitigation roadmap;
- Improving agricultural water management;
- Protecting public health
- Unlocking climate finance that could help farmers participate in emerging global carbon markets
Transitioning to cleaner farming practices could also contribute to more liveable cities and healthier, more resilient communities across the country. The tools are available, the framework is in place, and the timing is right.
The challenge now is for Bangladesh's agricultural extension services to have the capacity and commitment to bring these practical, water-saving technologies out of the laboratories and into farmers' fields.
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.