Sydney, 11 May – The first EU-wide legislation on methane emissions, once it comes into force, could reduce the EU’s cumulative methane emissions from coal mines by approximately 40% until 2040, according to an analysis by global energy think tank Ember.
The European Parliament has adopted its position Tuesday on a new law that aims at reducing energy sector methane emission by 58% by the end of the decade. According to Ember, the proposed regulation will cap the amount of methane that coal mines are allowed to release and have a significant impact on its emissions reduction. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and accounts for one third of current global warming.
According to the greenhouse gas data reported to the UNFCCC, coal mines in the EU emitted 943 thousand tonnes of methane in 2020, making the coal industry the single largest methane emitter in the energy sector, emitting more than the oil and gas sectors combined. Using methane’s 20 year global warming potential, this is equivalent to 78 million tonnes of CO2-e, more than Austria’s total annual CO2 emissions.
Under the new regulation, Ember estimates that the EU’s coal mine methane emissions could be reduced by 40%, plummeting from 950,000 tonnes under current policies to around 560,000 tonnes by 2040.
Due to methane’s heightened impact on global warming, this would equate to an annual saving of 31 million tonnes of CO2e (using methane’s 20-year global warming potential), almost the size of annual emissions of Switzerland in 2021.
