Chapter 4:
Cutting CMM this decade is urgent and feasible
Large methane cuts this decade are urgent to reduce global methane emissions in line with the Global Methane Pledge and to avoid 0.2C of warming by 2050. Mitigating CMM is one of the opportunities to rapidly slow near-term global warming, given the availability of proven technologies with fast implementation times.
4.1
Reducing CMM could contribute to preventing over 180,000 deaths annually
Achieving methane reduction targets also delivers immediate public health and climate benefits.
The Global Methane Status Report estimates that implementing all technically feasible methane mitigation measures could prevent over 180,000 premature deaths annually by 2030. In addition, it could avert nearly 19 million tonnes of crop losses each year and save nearly 53 billion hours of lost labour for outdoor workers due to extreme heat. The resulting monetised value of these benefits exceeds $330 billion USD per year, surpassing the estimated total annual implementation cost of $127 billion USD.
4.2
Proven technologies can slash coal mine methane by 54-63%
The IEA estimates that 54% of global CMM emissions in 2024 can be mitigated at an annual cost of $14.25 billion USD through to 2030. It also estimates that 12% could be mitigated at no net cost. Yet despite this clear economic case, uptake remains negligible: only 130 out of 1,800 active mines have reported a mitigation project to the Global Methane Initiative, underscoring the vast gap between mitigation potential and action on the ground.
According to UNEP estimates, up to 63% of CMM could be mitigated, delivering 27 million tonnes of methane reductions in 2030, for $10.8 billion USD per year. Low-cost measures could deliver 25 million tonnes of these reductions at a total cost of $6 billion USD.
4.3
Cutting coal mine methane in half would cost just 16% of annual industry profits
Full abatement of coal mine methane would cost less than $4 billion USD, spread across ventilation air methane (VAM) oxidation, drainage systems and other measures.
Drainage systems stand out as the most cost-effective option, with the majority of their abatement potential available at no net cost. VAM oxidation requires the largest upfront investment but delivers the greatest overall emissions reductions.
VAM oxidation could cut nearly a quarter of CMM emissions
Most methane from underground coal mines comes from ventilation air, which can be captured and destroyed using proven technologies.
VAM mitigation is usually achieved by destroying methane using the most widely proven technology: regenerative thermal oxidisers (RTOs). These oxidise methane at high temperature, and in some cases, it may be possible to recover part of the heat for electricity or steam generation.
Other emerging options include catalytic oxidisers, which operate at lower temperatures but are still under commercial development, and cryogenic or membrane separation systems that aim to capture methane for later use as fuel.
The IEA estimates that investing roughly $2.5 billion USD in VAM oxidation alone could cut CMM by 23.7% compared to 2024 emissions, reducing emissions by 9.5 million tonnes.
Early support and subsidies can make VAM projects financially viable. This aligns with research from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which states that backing VAM oxidation technologies with $20 USD per tonne of CO2 equivalent for four to five years can make projects investable.
Drainage station capture is often revenue-generating, making it the lowest cost abatement option
Methane captured from drainage stations before or after mining a coal seam is typically high enough in concentration to be used directly as fuel, meaning it can generate revenue to offset or exceed the cost of capture infrastructure.
According to the IEA, drainage systems offer around 7,460 kilotonnes of abatement potential globally. Crucially, around 62% is available at negative net cost, meaning capture and utilisation generates more revenue than it costs to implement.
This accounts for 95% of all negative cost abatement opportunities across the entire coal mine methane sector.
The economics of pre-mining degasification are illustrated by Anglo American’s Queensland metallurgical coal mines, where the company has spent around $100 million USD per year on gas mitigation infrastructure (equivalent to roughly $20 per tonne of CO2 equivalent), capturing gas before and during mining and abating approximately 60% of reported methane emissions in 2023, rising to 70% in 2024 with improved sealing practices.
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