Coal mine methane’s critical moment in India

India's plans to increase coal production to over 1.5 billion tonnes by 2030, including tripling underground mining, could more than double coal mine methane emissions to over 1.67 million tonnes per year by 2029. Ember proposes a gradual mitigation roadmap to reduce emissions by 35% by 2030, which could save over 1,600 kt of methane and potentially offset $980 million USD in imported gas costs between 2025 and 2030.

• India's domestic coal production is projected to exceed 1.5 billion tonnes per year by 2030, driven by efforts to meet peak energy demand and reduce import dependence.
• The expansion of coal mining, particularly the projected tripling of high-emitting underground mining to over 100 million tonnes per year, is expected to more than double coal mine methane emissions from 812 kt in 2019 to over 1,670 kt by 2029.
• The short-term warming impact of projected coal mine methane emissions by 2029 (over a 20-year period) could be comparable to the CO2 emissions produced by all of India's trucks and buses.
• Ember proposes a conservative mitigation roadmap starting in 2025, aiming for a 7% annual increase in reductions to reach a 35% reduction in coal mine methane by 2030, potentially saving more than 1,600 kt of methane.
• Capturing and utilizing the methane identified in the proposed mitigation roadmap could replace approximately 1.5 billion cubic metres of imported gas, resulting in potential savings of up to $980 million USD over five years.
• Underground mining poses significantly higher safety risks than surface mining, with methane-related incidents potentially causing more than half of all coal mining deaths in India since 1980.

APA

Assan, S., Copsey, L., Kaelin, C., Bruce-Lockhart, C., Rodrigues, N., Zhang, S., & Sucahyo, R. (2024). Coal mine methane’s critical moment in India. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-mine-methanes-critical-moment-in-india

Chicago

Assan, Sabina, Libby Copsey, Claire Kaelin, Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart, Neshwin Rodrigues, Shiyao Zhang, and Rini Sucahyo. Coal mine methane’s critical moment in India. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-mine-methanes-critical-moment-in-india.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Assan |first1=Sabina |last2=Copsey |first2=Libby |last3=Kaelin |first3=Claire |last4=Bruce-Lockhart |first4=Chelsea |last5=Rodrigues |first5=Neshwin |last6=Zhang |first6=Shiyao |last7=Sucahyo |first7=Rini |title=Coal mine methane’s critical moment in India |publisher=Ember |date=19 September 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-mine-methanes-critical-moment-in-india |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assan2024coal, author = {Assan, Sabina and Copsey, Libby and Kaelin, Claire and Bruce-Lockhart, Chelsea and Rodrigues, Neshwin and Zhang, Shiyao and Sucahyo, Rini}, title = {{Coal mine methane’s critical moment in India}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-mine-methanes-critical-moment-in-india}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }