Global Assessment

An assessment by Ember comparing government-reported coal mine methane (CMM) emissions to independent studies, finding that actual emissions may be up to twice as high as reported to the UNFCCC.

• Government reports to the UNFCCC from 64 countries indicate global annual methane emissions from coal mines total 30.5 million tonnes. This is equivalent to 0.9 billion tonnes of CO2 over 100 years, or 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 over the next two decades, which is comparable to India's total CO2 emissions in 2021.
• Independent estimates from the IEA, GEM, and Shen et al. (2023), combined with Kholod et al. (2020) data on abandoned and closed mines, suggest global CMM emissions are between 38 and 67 million tonnes per year. This range is approximately double the government-reported figures and, at the upper limit, has a 20-year warming impact similar to the total annual CO2 emissions of the US.
• Methane increases the climate impact of burning coal by an average of 17% over the first 20 years and 6% when averaged over 100 years.

APA

Ember (2023). Global Assessment. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-assessment-cmm/

Chicago

Ember. Global Assessment. 2023. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-assessment-cmm/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Global Assessment |date=28 November 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-assessment-cmm/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2023global, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Global Assessment}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/global-assessment-cmm/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }