India's pivotal opportunity to address coal mine methane emissions before potential doubling: Ember report

BATHINDA: India faces a pivotal opportunity to reduce its coal mine methane emissions and unlock considerable economic and environmental benefits, before emissions potentially double, finds a new analysis by global energy think tank Ember, released on Thursday.

To meet rising energy demand and reduce coal imports, India’s Ministry of Coal is planning a significant expansion in domestic coal mining, including a tripling of higher-emitting underground coal mining. Ember projects that this could see annual coal mine emissions exceed 1.6 million tonnes of methane per year by 2029, more than double compared to 2019 levels.

Due to methane’s short term warming impact, the analysis suggests that this rate of methane emissions could have a greater annual climate heating effect than the annual CO2 emissions of India’s trucks and buses in 2021.

As such, the analysis identifies this as a critical moment to address the increase in emissions, and potentially utilize this wasted methane gas.

By implementing effective methane mitigation strategies, Ember’s analysis suggests that India could reduce coal mine methane emissions by up to 35 per cent annually by 2030. This can result in a cumulative reduction of more than 1.6 million tonnes of methane, equivalent to over 44.5 million tonnes of CO2e. This presents a vital chance for India to not only address climate impacts but also tap into economic savings over the next five years.

If regulatory reforms incentivize capturing and utilizing this methane, it could replace approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters of imported gas, potentially saving up to $980 million USD over the next five years.

“Addressing India’s coal mine methane emissions is the low-hanging opportunity we have to slow climate change, reduce surface ozone and complement India’s efforts to reduce carbon dioxide,” says Rajasekhar Modadugu, Ember’s Analyst Climate and Energy, India. “Policies to incentivize mitigation, capture and utilisation of coal mine methane are crucial and should be prioritized with urgency.”

Chris Wright, Ember's Climate Strategy Advisor for Coal Mine Methane, adds, "India’s coal mining industry has a pivotal opportunity to address its coal mine methane emissions and unlock the considerable social, economic and climate opportunities of methane mitigation at scale”.

Considering the potential growth of coal mine methane in the years ahead, emphasis should be placed on urgently developing an integrated approach to assess, address and potentially utilize coal mine methane. This could significantly reduce the industry’s methane footprint, while capturing untapped economic benefits from methane mitigation and potential utilization.