Data tracker: coal mine methane emissions

Coal mining globally releases millions of tonnes of methane every year, a potent greenhouse gas which adds to coal’s considerable climate impact.

According to government data reported to UNFCCC, coal mines release 30.5 million tonnes of methane emissions per year. Over 20 years, methane’s climate impact is 82.5 times that of carbon dioxide, meaning it adds 17% to the climate impact of burning coal.

There are major gaps in how governments measure coal mine methane. Independent studies reveal that global coal mine methane emissions could be more than twice as high as reported by governments. Across three studies that used various techniques, Ember finds that emissions estimates range between 38-67 million tonnes of methane per year.

This tool compiles national emission estimates from the IEA, GEM, Shen et al.(2023) and governments (reported to the UNFCCC). It scores countries on how well they were found to be reporting on coal mine methane emissions.

Context

This data tool is part of a wider report published on 28 November 2023. Read the full analysis below.

Data and methodology

Summary

This dataset contains scores on how well countries were found to be reporting on coal mine methane emissions. The scores are derived from evaluating national emission estimates from the IEA, GEM, Shen et al.(2023) and governments (reported to the UNFCCC).