Coal Sector

The Coal Mines Subcommittee focuses on supporting the identification and deployment of practical and cost-effective methane mitigation technologies and practices to reduce or eliminate emissions from coal mines. This is achieved by encouraging collaboration among Partner Countries, Subcommittee members, and Project Network members to build capacity, develop strategies and markets, and remove technical and non-technical barriers to methane mitigation project development. Ultimately, such collaboration can increase environmental quality, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen the economy via the additional methane brought to market.

Upcoming Events

Methane Observations for Large Emission Event Detection and Monitoring

19–21 November 2024, Virtual

While carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, methane is estimated around 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere on a 20-year timescale. Methane is an attractive target for mitigation activities because it has a relatively short decadal-scale lifetime in the atmosphere (as compared with the century-scale carbon dioxide lifetime), it can be utilized as an energy source or combusted (converted to CO2) in order to reduce its global warming potential, and the safety issues associated with high concentrations of this flammable gas. Many activities can lead to the release of large concentrations of methane during the course of normal industrial operations or as accidental releases, these are often referred to as super emitter events, which can be identified from modern satellites.

This introductory two-part training will begin with an introduction to the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and provide participants with an overview of how methane observations from the Earth surface Mineral dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission can be used to identify and monitor areas of high methane enhancement. This course will also demonstrate how to navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas center portal to access data products as well as highlight tools for visualizing methane observations.

By the end of this training attendees will be able to:
  1. Identify the goals and objectives of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center
  2. Define the roles of methane and large emission events in climate change
  3. Identify the sensors used to measure methane
  4. Recognize the strengths and limitations of satellite observations used to measure methane for large emission event tracking
  5. Navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center Portal and the EMIT Open Data Portal to access and visualize data for large emission event tracking
Audience
Federal, state, and local government agency representatives, United Nations agencies with policy mandates related to GHG emission measurement, monitoring and mitigation (e.g., UNEP), entities whose operations produce methane (i.e. oil and gas sector, landfills, livestock, etc.), as well as non-public sector entities with roles/responsibilities in providing GHG data, solutions and services.

University students, early career researchers, and the media may also be interested.

Course Format
Two, 90-minute parts on 19 November and 21 November 2024
Each part includes a 30-min Q&A session

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2024 20th International Symposium on CBM/CMM in China

4–5 December 2024, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

The 2024 20th International Symposium on CBM/CMM in China will be held on December 4-5, 2024, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. Organized by the Information Institute of the Ministry of Emergency Management (China Coal Information Institute), the two-day Symposium is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Mine Safety Administration, P.R. China.

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Methane Observations for Large Emission Event Detection and Monitoring

7–9 January 2025, Virtual

This event will be conducted in Spanish.

While carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, methane is estimated around 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere on a 20-year timescale. Methane is an attractive target for mitigation activities because it has a relatively short decadal-scale lifetime in the atmosphere (as compared with the century-scale carbon dioxide lifetime), it can be utilized as an energy source or combusted (converted to CO2) in order to reduce its global warming potential, and the safety issues associated with high concentrations of this flammable gas. Many activities can lead to the release of large concentrations of methane during the course of normal industrial operations or as accidental releases, these are often referred to as super emitter events, which can be identified from modern satellites.

This introductory two-part training will begin with an introduction to the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and provide participants with an overview of how methane observations from the Earth surface Mineral dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission can be used to identify and monitor areas of high methane enhancement. This course will also demonstrate how to navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas center portal to access data products as well as highlight tools for visualizing methane observations.

By the end of this training attendees will be able to:
  1. Identify the goals and objectives of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center
  2. Define the roles of methane and large emission events in climate change
  3. Identify the sensors used to measure methane
  4. Recognize the strengths and limitations of satellite observations used to measure methane for large emission event tracking
  5. Navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center Portal and the EMIT Open Data Portal to access and visualize data for large emission event tracking
Audience
Federal, state, and local government agency representatives, United Nations agencies with policy mandates related to GHG emission measurement, monitoring and mitigation (e.g., UNEP), entities whose operations produce methane (i.e. oil and gas sector, landfills, livestock, etc.), as well as non-public sector entities with roles/responsibilities in providing GHG data, solutions and services.

University students, early career researchers, and the media may also be interested.

Course Format
Two, 90-minute parts on 7 January and 9 January 2025
Each part includes a 30-min Q&A session

View Details

View GMI Calendar

Recent Events

 NameDateLocationSectorLink
Coal Mines 17th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies 20–24 October 2024 Calgary, Canada Coal Mines View Details
Coal Mines 7th International Symposium on Mine Safety Science and Engineering (ISMSSE) 17–21 August 2024 Pittsburgh, United States Coal Mines View Details
Coal Mines 12th International Mine Ventilation Congress 2024 12–15 August 2024 Sydney, Australia Coal Mines View Details
Coal Mines Coal Mine Methane - CCAC M-RAP NDC Enhancement Opportunities and Examples Workshop 11 July 2024 Virtual Coal Mines View Details
Coal Mines Expanding Opportunities Webinar 18 June 2024 Webinar Coal Mines View Details
Coal Mines 13th International Mining Geology Conference 2024 7–8 May 2024 Perth, Australia Coal Mines View Details
Biogas National Methane Forum 24 April 2024 Accra, Dzorwulu, Ghana Biogas, Coal Mines, Oil and Gas, Agriculture, MSW, Wastewater View Details
Biogas 2024 Global Methane Forum 18–21 March 2024 Geneva, Switzerland Biogas, Coal Mines, Oil and Gas, Steering, Agriculture, MSW, Wastewater View Details
Coal Mines 19th Annual Southern African Coal Conference 31 January–2 February 2024 Cape Town, South Africa Coal Mines View Details
Biogas 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) 30 November–12 December 2023 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Biogas, Coal Mines, Oil and Gas View Details

View All Past Events

Coal Mines Subcommittee

Subcommittee Co-chairs

Manoj Kumar, Co-Chair
Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd (CMPDI)
India

Volha Roshchanka, Co-Chair
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
United States

Liu Wenge, Co-Chair
China Coal Information Institute (CCII)
China

Subcommittee Members

Representatives from 22 countries participate in the Coal Mines Subcommittee.

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Project Network

Hundreds of Project Network members support methane abatement projects in the coal sector.

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Coal Mines Subcommittee Statement of Purpose
Coal Mines Subcommittee Statement of Purpose

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Recent Resources

Check out these featured resources. For a complete list of available coal resources, including technical documents, presentations, and tools, please visit the resources page.

View all coal resources

International Coal Mine Methane Projects Database (2021)

This Excel document contains information on over two hundred coal mine methane recovery and utilization projects operating, in development, or planned around the world in both Global Methane Initiative partner and non-partner countries.

Conducting Pre-Feasibility Studies for Coal Mine Methane Projects Training (2020)

The U.S. EPA is developing this training course in support of the GMI and in conjunction with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). This course introduces principles for assessing the potential of developing projects to capture and/or use Coal Mine Methane (CMM). The introduced general approach should be underpinned by mine-specific data and analyses, allowing the principles to be tailored to the unique conditions at each mine. Ideally, such an assessment will lead to project development and implementation.

Global Methane Emissions from Coal Mining to Continue Growing Even with Declining Coal Production (2020)

Coal mines are one of the largest sources of anthropogenic methane emissions. As the world produces more coal, coal mines get deeper every year, and methane emissions grow with increasing mining depth. Mine operators also abandon old coal mines, which still emit methane into the atmosphere. The U.S. EPA, in collaboration with the Global Methane Initiative and several other organizations, co-authored this paper that presents projections of global methane emissions from coal mining under different coal extraction scenarios and with increasing mining depth through 2100. The study estimates methane emissions from underground and surface coal production while accounting for the increase in mining depth using several new and compiled data sets.

Coal Mine Methane Country Profiles (2020)

This document contains individual, comprehensive profiles that characterize the coal and coal mine methane sectors of 37 countries—29 Global Methane Initiative partners and an additional eight coal-producing nations. In addition, an Introduction section provides additional methane information, summary tables, and country statistics.

Pre-Feasibility Study for Methane Drainage and Utilization at the Casa Blanca Coal Mine (2019)

This pre-feasibility study was completed to determine the feasibility of a coal mine methane (CMM) capture and utilization project at the Casa Blanca Coal Mine in Colombia.

Pre-Feasibility Study for Methane Drainage and Utilization at the Pootkee Colliery, Damodar Valley (2019)

This pre-feasibility study was completed to determine the viability of a CMM drainage project at the Pootkee Colliery. Specifically, the study evaluated the technical and economic viability of utilizing long in-mine horizontal boreholes drilled into Seam XII to drain methane in advance of mining, and to identify end-use options for the drained methane.

Coal Mine Methane Mitigation and Utilization Technologies and Project Profiles (2018)
(also referred to as the Coal Mine Methane Technology Database)

This database provides basic descriptions of several key technologies applicable to coal mine methane recovery and utilization, including each technology’s current status and commercial availability. It is intended to be a living document, which will be periodically updated to remain current. The database is an updated and revised version of the original database compiled by Australia’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, on behalf of the Global Methane Initiative.

Methane Mitigation Matters (2015)

Methane is a prevalent manmade greenhouse gas that traps 28 times more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2). Reducing methane emissions by recovering and using methane as a clean energy source offers many benefits for the environment and local communities. This video highlights the many ways that reducing methane can benefit the environment and local communities.