Slashing methane emissions from fossil fuel operations could prevent as much global warming as eliminating all carbon dioxide emissions from heavy industry, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its latest methane tracker report.

With methane levels rising at record rates—outpacing all other greenhouse gases—the agency says “tried-and-tested” policies and low-cost technologies could cut emissions from oil and gas by up to 75%—but only if countries move quickly from pledges to implementation as they update their national climate plans this year.

Methane is a potent but short-lived greenhouse gas, trapping about 28 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time frame—and more than 80 times over the crucial 20-year period when humanity will be scrambling to get climate change under control. While some methane is released by the warming climate’s impacts on natural ecosystems, like wetlands, the majority of the growth is from human activity.

The IEA writes that more than one-third of human-induced methane emissions come from the energy sector, primarily upstream oil and gas operations. Abandoned oil and gas infrastructure alone emit enough methane that, if considered as a country, would exceed every other country’s emissions except China, the United States, and Russia.

“Deploying targeted methane mitigation solutions in the fossil fuel sector would prevent a roughly 0.1°C rise in global temperatures by 2050” if fossil fuel demand follows a scenario where countries meet their stated goals, writes the IEA. “This would have a tremendous impact—comparable to eliminating all carbon dioxide emissions from the world’s heavy industry in one stroke.”

The agency estimates that about 70% of the fossil fuel sector’s methane emissions could be avoided with existing technologies, possibly at no net cost, given that abatement measures are cheaper than the market value of the captured gas. Some proven policies include curbing flaring and venting, requiring leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs, and introducing technology standards. Additional policies like emissions pricing, financing instruments, and performance standards could lead to a 75% reduction in oil and gas methane emissions.

Companies may be held back from investing in abatement for several reasons, the IEA writes—they may be unaware of the scale of the problem or of the available solutions. Methane abatement could also be out-competed by higher-profile opportunities, or when companies are unable to come up with an effective business case for bringing captured gas to productive use.

But failing to address methane emissions presents financial, regulatory, and reputational risks, writes the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in a recent post. For instance, Glencore’s Hail Creek coal mine in Australia reportedly emits more methane than disclosed, potentially costing the company US$492 million annually under the country’s carbon trading scheme. The impact may also be a red flag for Glencore investors who are concerned about climate exposure.

With countries due to submit a new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris climate agreement this year, IEA says there is opportunity for governments “to indicate how they will move from pledges to action on methane abatement.” Currently, while 80% of global oil and gas production is covered by methane pledges, only about 5% meets near-zero emissions standards.

IEA identifies 65 countries signed on to the Global Methane Pledge that could have an outsized impact on global methane emissions by adopting more ambitious policies. If each were to cut domestic methane emissions by 30%, they could eliminate 1.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent by 2030—an amount “broadly equivalent to eliminating all emissions from international aviation and shipping.”