India’s methane emissions from coal mines rising: Report
The climate impact of methane emissions, including by India that is among the top five emitters, from proposed coal mines worldwide could rival the CO2 emissions from all the US coal plants, warned a new report by Global Energy Monitor on Friday.
For India, the report estimates methane emissions to be at 45 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 equivalent emissions over a 20-year horizon and estimates proposed new coal mines to be 52.
The first-of-its-kind analysis surveyed 432 proposed coal mines globally and modelled methane emission estimates at the individual mine level.
Unless mitigated, methane emissions from these proposed mines would amount to 13.5 Mt of methane annually, a 30 per cent increase over current methane emissions.
Methane is the second biggest contributor to global warming after CO2, with a shorter atmospheric lifetime, but much stronger potency and warming potential.
During mining, fractured coal seams and surrounding strata emit methane into the atmosphere.
