Scientists said Wednesday they had created a rice variety with starchier grains that emits less methane, a step towards the twin goals of feeding more people and curbing global warming.

The cultivation of rice, a staple starch for billions of people, is also mankind's major emitter of methane, a potent climate-altering gas.

Methane lives for a shorter time in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant greenhouse gas, but traps far more heat radiated from Earth's surface.

Every year, rice paddies pump out 25 to 100 million tonnes of methane—the second-most important greenhouse gas at about 16 percent.

This means a high risk for the planet as rice cultivation expands to feed a growing population, said the paper, published in the journal Nature.

"There is an urgent need to establish sustainable technologies for increasing rice production while reducing methane fluxes from rice paddies," wrote the team led by Chuanxin Sun of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

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