Coal mine methane’s critical moment in India

This report by Ember analyzes the impact of India's planned expansion of coal mining on methane emissions. It projects that without mitigation, coal mine methane emissions could more than double by 2029, potentially reaching over 1.67 million tonnes per year. The report proposes a gradual mitigation roadmap to reduce emissions by 35% by 2030, which could save up to $980 million USD by replacing imported gas and significantly reduce short-term climate warming and mining safety risks.

• India's Ministry of Coal plans to significantly expand domestic coal mining to meet rising energy demand and reduce imports, with total production potentially exceeding 1.5 billion tonnes per year by 2030.
• 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 kilotonnes (kt) in 2019 to over 1,670 kt by 2029.
• The short-term climate impact of projected coal mine methane emissions by 2029, measured 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 where India progressively reduces coal mine methane by 7% annually starting in 2025 to reach a 35% reduction by 2030, potentially mitigating 1,666 kt of methane over five years.
• Capturing and utilizing the methane from the proposed moderate mitigation rollout could replace approximately 1.5 billion cubic metres of imported gas, resulting in potential savings of up to $980 million USD over the next five years.
• Expanding underground mining increases safety risks for workers, as methane-related incidents may have caused more than half of all coal mining deaths in India since 1980, including a 2006 explosion at the Bhatdih underground mine that killed 50 miners.

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

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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} }