Drugi Bełchatów. Metan kopalniany w Polsce

This report by Ember analyzes methane emissions from Polish coal mines in 2018, highlighting that Poland accounted for 70% of methane leaks from active coal mines in Europe. The document argues that these emissions have a more significant climate impact than the CO2 emissions from the Bełchatów Power Plant and identifies specific companies and mines responsible for the majority of these leaks, while proposing six policy solutions to reduce emissions.

• In 2018, Poland was responsible for 70% of methane leaks from active coal mines in Europe. When including closed mines, Poland's share was 57% of the total EU-27 emissions, emitting 659 kt out of a total of 1152 kt.
• Methane leaks from Polish coal mines have a greater climate impact than the CO2 emissions from the Bełchatów Power Plant. Using a 20-year horizon (where 1 ton of methane equals 86 tons of CO2), 695 kilotons of methane equals 56.7 million tons of CO2, exceeding Bełchatów's 2018 emissions of 38.3 million tons of CO2.
• Two companies, JSW and PGG, were responsible for 90% of methane leaks from active hard coal mines in Poland in 2018. JSW accounted for 50% (231 kt of 462 kt) and PGG for 40% (186 kt).
• The JSW Budryk deep mine is the largest emitter of mine methane in both Poland and Europe, emitting 93 kilotons of methane in 2018, which corresponds to 8 million tons of CO2 (20-year horizon). This increases the life-cycle climate footprint of coal from Budryk by 107%.
• Within PGG, the Mysłowice-Wesoła and Sośnica mines significantly increase the life-cycle climate footprint of their coal by 73% and 52% respectively. These two mines produced only 9% of PGG's coal but emitted 37% of its methane.
• Approximately 16% of methane leaks come from methane that has already been captured by degasification plants but is released into the atmosphere when supply exceeds internal energy demand. In 2018, the value of this released gas was 110 million PLN.
• The report proposes six solutions: JSW should accelerate methane reduction plans; PGG should prioritize closing its two highest-emitting mines; an immediate ban on releasing captured methane; using the Just Transition Fund for closed mines; including mine methane in the European Commission's methane strategy; and including methane in the EU ETS from 2030.

APA

Kasprzak, M., & Jones, D. (2020). Drugi Bełchatów. Metan kopalniany w Polsce. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Polish-Polands-Second-Belchatow.pdf

Chicago

Kasprzak, Małgorzata, and Dave Jones. Drugi Bełchatów. Metan kopalniany w Polsce. Ember, 2020. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Polish-Polands-Second-Belchatow.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kasprzak |first1=Małgorzata |last2=Jones |first2=Dave |title=Drugi Bełchatów. Metan kopalniany w Polsce |publisher=Ember |date=November 2020 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Polish-Polands-Second-Belchatow.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kasprzak2020drugi, author = {Kasprzak, Małgorzata and Jones, Dave}, title = {{Drugi Bełchatów. Metan kopalniany w Polsce}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Polish-Polands-Second-Belchatow.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }