Data Methodology Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker

This guide details the methodologies used by Ember for its Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker, covering the compilation of historical emissions records, the creation of future emission forecasts, the classification of mine types, and the assessment of reporting confidence and satellite monitoring potential.

• Ember constructs a historical record of coal mine methane emissions starting from 1990. To address missing data, the organization calculates a methane emission intensity factor for years where both production and emissions were reported, then applies a two-step 'Forward Fill' and 'Backward Fill' process to estimate emissions for missing years using U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) coal production data.
• Future methane emissions are estimated using three distinct forecasting models based on International Energy Agency (IEA) production forecasts: a UNFCCC-based forecast using the last reported historical intensity; an IEA-based forecast using a static intensity factor from 2024 data; and a GEM-based forecast using the latest available Global Energy Monitor (GEM) emissions and EIA production data.
• To determine the proportion of national coal production from surface versus underground mines, Ember prioritizes UNFCCC National Communication documents. If unavailable, it uses the GEM Global Coal Mine Tracker (GCMT), filtering for 'Operating' mines and using 'Capacity (Mtpa)' as a substitute if actual 'Production (Mtpa)' is missing. Mines are categorized as 'Surface' if the description contains that word; all others are labeled 'Underground'.
• Ember assigns a confidence score from 0 to 6 for national CMM emissions reporting based on three categories scored 0-2: recency of UNFCCC reporting (with deductions for production changes of +/- 50%), similarity to independent estimates from the IEA, GEM, and satellite data, and the robustness of estimation methods (UNFCCC tiers). Countries with emissions below 1 kilotonne per year are excluded from this scoring.
• The methodology for calculating the percentage of national coal production with attributable satellite plumes excludes lignite mines due to their low methane production. Plume data is merged from Kayrros Methane Watch, IMEO MARS, and Carbon Mapper, with IMEO MARS records preferred in cases of overlap because they provide both emission rates and uncertainty estimates.

APA

Horner, R. (2026). Data Methodology Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Methodology_CMM-Data-Tracker.pdf

Chicago

Horner, Rebekah. Data Methodology Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker. Ember, 2026. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Methodology_CMM-Data-Tracker.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Horner |first1=Rebekah |title=Data Methodology Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker |publisher=Ember |date=29 April 2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Methodology_CMM-Data-Tracker.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{horner2026data, author = {Horner, Rebekah}, title = {{Data Methodology Coal Mine Methane Data Tracker}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/10/Methodology_CMM-Data-Tracker.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }