Global Coal Mine Methane Review 2026

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Countries’ reported coal mine methane inventories capture only a fraction of actual emissions. Yet affordable mitigation measures exist and could significantly reduce these emissions this decade.

29 Apr 2026

37 Minutes Read

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Rebekah Horner
Data Analyst, Coal Mine Methane
Ember

Sabina Assan
Senior Analyst, CMM
Ember

Executive summary

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Global CMM emissions remain steady despite rising coal production

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1.1

Global coal production has increased while emissions have remained steady since the Global Methane Pledge

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1.2

Independent estimates reveal uncertainty in the scale of CMM emissions

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1.3

Reported methane emissions per tonne of coal are declining

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1.4

Country Insights for 2024

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Direct, continuous measurement is needed to increase confidence in reported emissions

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2.1

The majority (89%) of methane emissions left unreported in 2023

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2.2

Most countries report emissions using generic estimates rather than direct measurements

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2.3

Ember’s confidence in national inventories varies widely

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Ember Research Spotlight: satellite observations reveal coal super-emitters, but monitoring gaps persist

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3.1

Satellite monitoring of coal mine methane emissions is increasing

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3.2

Over 70% of hard coal production is in areas with favourable conditions for satellite monitoring

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Cutting CMM this decade is urgent and feasible

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4.1

Reducing CMM could contribute to preventing over 180,000 deaths annually

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4.2

Proven technologies can slash coal mine methane by 54-63%

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4.3

Cutting coal mine methane in half would cost just 16% of annual industry profits

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Recommendations

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5.1

Improve understanding of CMM emissions by updating monitoring, verification and reporting methods

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5.2

Quick win: example policies for governments to kick-start emissions reductions

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5.3

Industry requires mine-level MRV and abatement

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Supporting Materials

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Highlights

35 Mt

Total global CMM emissions in 2023 if all coal-producing countries had reported

31 Mt

Unreported CMM emissions in 2023 because only a third of all coal-producing countries reported

10%

Global hard coal production whose emissions have been detected via satellite

63%

Global CMM emissions that could be cut by 2030 using existing technologies, mostly at negative net cost

About

Ember’s first annual Global Coal Mine Methane Review provides the first comprehensive overview of the trends in coal mine methane emissions, based on reported data. This report compiles coal mine methane emissions from 1990 through to 2024, with a focus on what has happened since the Global Methane Pledge was formed in 2021. Almost five years on, it asks whether the coal sector is on track to play its part in emissions reductions, and what it would take to change course.

The report compiles data from a total of 73 countries and dives deeper into the nine countries with the largest coal production in 2024 – China, India, Indonesia, the United States, Australia, Russia, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Poland – which together account for around 94% of reported global CMM emissions.

It is written for anyone looking to understand more about the state of global- and national-level coal mine methane emissions. We make all of the data freely accessible via our Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker to empower others to do their own analysis and help speed up mitigation in this sector.

Executive summary

CMM abatement offers a major near-term climate win, yet a lack of reporting masks the true scale of the opportunity

Coal mine methane (CMM) is an increasingly significant near-term climate risk. Emissions have remained broadly steady, falling short of required reductions as coal production continues to increase. CMM emissions also remain largely unaccounted for in official data, hindering the uptake of proven technologies that could cut emissions this decade.

Almost five years into the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for a 30% cut in global methane emissions by 2030, emissions have not fallen, including those from coal mining.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is co-formed with coal and released before, during and even after mining.

According to Ember’s analysis of reported data, coal mining emitted around 34.7 million tonnes of methane in 2023, comparable to emissions from the oil or gas industries.

Only a handful of countries account for the majority of CMM emissions, yet due to infrequent reporting, Ember estimates that 89% of emissions were not reported to the UNFCCC in 2023. This, combined with evidence that six of the top-nine coal mine methane emitting countries are significantly underreporting emissions, signals a major lack of understanding of these emissions and consequently slow uptake of available abatement options.

Yet the economics of action are favourable. Deep cuts in CMM are affordable relative to coal industry profits. It is technically possible to avoid about 54–63% of current CMM emissions using existing technologies, with around 12% of abatement available at no net cost.

The disruption to the Strait of Hormuz since March 2026 has focused the world’s attention to the fragility of fossil fuel supply chains. Yet coal mine methane, a fossil fuel emissions source that could be utilised, remains almost entirely unmonitored and unmanaged. Methane that can be captured and used directly from coal mines (through drainage systems and on-site recovery) represents around 15 bcm (billion cubic metres), equivalent to roughly one-eighth of the 112 bcm of LNG that transited through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025.

Stronger measurement and reporting, clear methane reduction and utilisation targets, and policies and incentives that encourage rapid deployment of mitigation measures can accelerate progress.

Improving transparency and accountability will help ensure that available opportunities are acted on quickly, unlocking significant near-term reductions in coal mine methane emissions and supporting broader climate goals.

Coal mine methane emissions are largely unreported, masking their true scale. Transparent, measurement-based reporting would raise confidence in official figures, and existing abatement technologies could reduce emissions by more than half within this decade. Yet solutions already exist and are ready to be widely implemented. This creates a clear opportunity to accelerate climate progress using tools that are already available, while rebuilding confidence in international methane commitments. By improving data quality and deploying proven solutions, the sector can reduce its climate impact and support a smoother energy transition.

Rebekah Horner
‍Data Analyst, Coal Mine Methane, Ember

Coal mine methane remains a major blind spot in global climate action. Emissions are largely unreported, yet proven solutions already exist to cut more than half of them this decade. Improvements in measurement and transparency would raise confidence in official figures and unlock these reductions, while strengthening the credibility of global methane commitments. Global methane targets will not be met unless coal mine methane is addressed directly. This is a clear, actionable part of the problem that has been overlooked for too long. Addressing it now would deliver immediate climate benefits at a pace that few other measures can match.

Nishant Bhardwaj
‍Coal Mine Methane Programme Director, Ember

Key takeaways

No decrease in global CMM emissions, even as reported emissions per tonne of coal decline

Since the launch of the Global Methane Pledge in 2021, Ember analysis finds that coal production has continued to rise and total coal mine methane emissions remain steady at around 35 million tonnes. At the same time, many countries report falling methane emissions per tonne of coal produced, largely due to changes in emission estimation methodologies.

Most CMM is neither directly measured nor reliably reported

99% of reported coal production comes from countries that rely on generic emission factors rather than direct mine‑level measurements. Only 23 countries reported any CMM data in 2023, out of 73 countries that mined coal that year, leaving around 31 million tonnes of global CMM emissions unreported and policymakers to manage this risk with low-confidence numbers. This weakens urgency and delays action.

Large methane releases from coal mines are increasingly visible from space, but many remain unseen

Satellite observations are uncovering significant, previously unobserved methane emissions from coal mines worldwide, with around 70% of global coal production located in regions theoretically favourable for detection. However, satellites currently observe about 10% of coal production, leaving major emissions unaccounted for.

Existing technologies could cut more than half of CMM by 2030

According to UNEP and the IEA, fully deploying proven abatement options could reduce global CMM emissions by 54-63%. Ventilation air methane (VAM) abatement would cut around 24%, requiring an investment of $2.5 billion USD as of 2024, less than 11% of global coal mining profits in 2025 (around $23.7 billion USD). Drainage station capture offers a further 19% of total abatement potential, with 62% of that available at negative net cost.

Next Chapter

1: Global CMM emissions remain steady despite rising coal production