
Breadcrumbs
Why the world must act on coal mine methane
Coal is dirtier than you think
The IPCC’s latest report singled out methane reductions as our quickest, best chance to limit global warming to within 1.5 degrees. Even as there is growing momentum to address methane emissions from fossil fuels, the focus is largely on oil and gas extraction.
Coal mine methane is often included as an afterthought, if at all. The European Commission wrote a methane strategy which recommended “coal production will decline in the coming years, so it would be extremely difficult to justify any additional expenditures to implement CH4 recovery techniques”. That was published in 1995. Falling coal use will be critical to reducing coal mine methane, but it should not be used as an excuse to pretend there is nothing further to be done.
At Ember we are working to understand how coal mine methane fits into the electricity transition. Past publications on coal mine methane have dug into Poland’s outsized emissions, analysed IEA findings, and considered how it fits into EU policy. Ember coal mine methane experts have also contributed to publications from the IEA and UN, and are currently partnering with Environmental Defence Fund, Clean Air Task Force and other expert organisations to draw attention to methane from fossil fuels as a part of Methane Moment. In a further effort to coordinate expertise, Ember and UNECE host a regular super-geek event discussing coal mine methane, called Methane Mondays, and we are also preparing a series of methane related publications to build on our earlier work.
Will the world now step up to the challenge?
*The coal mine methane billboards have been generously donated to Ember for the duration of COP26.
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