Mind the data gap – tracking coal mine methane

When I joined Ember to work on coal mine methane (CMM) four years ago, the issue felt almost invisible. Hardly anyone was talking about it, and even less was being done to measure or address it. Building the first version of our CMM Data Tool just two years ago meant piecing together scarce information. What we uncovered was striking: most major coal-producing countries weren’t reporting one of their largest methane sources.

Today, as we launch the latest version of the tool, the global discourse on CMM looks very different, with some major emitters beginning to implement or initiate regulations specifically targeting it.

The data still tells a familiar story: a significant gap remains between what countries report and independent estimates. But now, you can also explore the key variables influencing each country’s CMM emissions and assess how they’re progressing toward reductions. It’s a resource designed to help you pinpoint where action is needed most and drive real, measurable emission cuts.

— Sabina Assan, Senior Coal Mine Methane Analyst

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Insights, analyses and commentaries

My top picks

Steel remains a difficult sector to decarbonise. While attention is growing around end-use emissions, one major emission source is still flying under the radar: methane from metallurgical coal mining.

Most mining and steel companies still don’t disclose methane data, let alone show how they plan to reduce it. That’s a problem. Methane emissions from coal mining can significantly inflate the climate impact of steel production— yet this risk remains largely ignored in corporate climate strategies and global regulation.

Last month, Ember dived into Australia—a vital player in met coal mining—and for the first time, directly linked methane emissions from specific mines to the steel companies buying from them.

Hidden impact of Australian coking coal in steelmaking

Methane from super-emitting coal mines can double steel’s short-term climate impact, yet this is largely unacknowledged in emissions reporting. Our report from September uncovers the hidden impact of this phenomenon.

It’s time for Europe to take stock of its abandoned coal mines – a major source of methane

As Europe works to cut emissions across all sectors, a potent source of climate pollution has been leaking, unmeasured, from closed and abandoned coal mines. These mines represent one of Europe’s long-overlooked and, until recently, largely unregulated climate risks. Addressing it is one of the goals of the EU Methane Regulation, adopted last year.
To bring this emission source to light, Ember worked with photojournalists who travelled across coal regions to show how coal mine methane affects communities on the frontlines of Europe’s energy transition.

There’s more! Here’s what we published this month

• ASEAN’s low-carbon future flows through smart grids | Read the report
• Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025 | Read the report
• Decoupled: how Spain cut the link between gas and power prices using renewables | Read the report
• Submission to NSW EPA: Climate change licensee requirements | Read the report
• Shockproof: How electrification can strengthen EU energy security | Read the report
• $8.7 billion coal subsidy contradicts Türkiye’s renewable goals | Read the report

Ember in the news

• Why Southeast Asia’s green energy boom hinges on smart grid investment | SCMP
• Spain’s Renewable-Energy Boom Loosens Gas’s Grip on Power Prices | Bloomberg
• Solar and wind power has grown faster than electricity demand this year | AP

What I’m reading

• Steel value chain emissions | Overlooked methane risk | Fidelity Australia
• Investors urge EU to uphold methane rules despite US pressure | Reuters
• Worldwide inference of national methane emissions by inversion of satellite observations with UNFCCC prior estimate | Earth ArXiv

Visual storytelling corner

Chart of the Month

Everything in the power system is connected – except how it is planned. How else would you explain the tangled web of processes used by EU countries to plan their future power systems, than as a tube map?

Over time, the EU’s planning approach for its electricity transition has grown into a patchwork of overlapping processes. Each tubeline in our October chart of the month represents one part of the process – functioning separately to deliver only one piece of the puzzle, rather than all heading towards one destination with a unified vision. The result is a set of plans that look connected on paper but are misaligned in practice. Yet stitching these processes back together is not enough to fix the fragmentation.

Learn how the European Grid Package presents an opportunity to streamline, align and integrate planning processes. You can download the infographic of the current system here or explore our scrollytelly walkthrough of the major stumbling blocks here.