Uncovering Indonesia’s hidden methane problem

Indonesia is significantly underreporting its coal mine methane (CMM) emissions, with official figures being six to seven times lower than independent estimates. The report identifies critical flaws in the current reporting framework, including the use of inaccurate emission factors, outdated global warming potential (GWP) values, and the total exclusion of underground coal mines. These gaps risk undermining Indonesia's commitments under the Global Methane Pledge. The author recommends transitioning to higher-tier IPCC estimation methods, implementing data disaggregation at the mine level, and improving public transparency to ensure climate targets are met and mine worker safety is enhanced.

• Official coal mine methane (CMM) emissions figures in Indonesia are significantly underestimated, appearing six to seven times lower than estimates derived from independent research using satellite and mine-level data.
• Indonesia's reporting framework contains several systemic errors: it uses an inaccurate emission factor of 0.3 m3 CH4/t (despite IPCC recommendations of 1.2 m3 CH4/t for deeper mines), relies on an outdated 1996 GWP factor of 21 instead of the current value of approximately 30, and ignores emissions from underground mines.
• The exclusion of underground coal mines leads to a massive data gap; for instance, the Qinfa underground mine in South Kalimantan alone could emit 332 kt CH4 annually, which would more than triple the 2019 official CMM estimate.
• Adjusted future CMM emissions could reach 1007 kt CH4 per year (30 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent), surpassing the total emissions from 200 thousand hectares of forest and land fires in 2022.
• Despite being a signatory to the Global Methane Pledge and one of the top six global methane emitters, Indonesia lacks a comprehensive methane reduction action plan, with its Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) only specifying mitigation for the waste sector.
• To improve the MRV system, the report recommends three actions: implementing data disaggregation at the mine level, adopting higher-tier IPCC methods (Tier 2 or Tier 3), and requiring coal companies to report GHG emissions at the facility level for public disclosure.

APA

Ember (2024). Uncovering Indonesia’s hidden methane problem. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uncovering-indonesias-hidden-methane-problem

Chicago

Ember. Uncovering Indonesia’s hidden methane problem. 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uncovering-indonesias-hidden-methane-problem.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Uncovering Indonesia’s hidden methane problem |date=12 March 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uncovering-indonesias-hidden-methane-problem |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2024uncovering, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Uncovering Indonesia’s hidden methane problem}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uncovering-indonesias-hidden-methane-problem}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }