ID: 1561
Presenting Author: Guangnan An
Session: 686 - Climate Change Impact Assessment: Countering Misinformation with Science
Status: pending
This article examines the methane evaluation framework in China's coal mine environmental assessments, exploring emission characteristics and proposing enhanced management mechanisms to support carbon
As global climate change mitigation efforts accelerate, methane emission control has become a core component of international carbon neutrality strategies. With methane having a global warming potential 84 times that of CO₂ over 20 years, a 45% global reduction in methane could prevent a 0.3°C temperature increase. Against this backdrop, coal mining—the world's second-largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions—releases approximately 40 million tons annually, accounting for 12% of energy-related emissions. This makes accurate accounting and emission reduction of coal mine methane crucial. In 2023, China issued the Methane Emission Control Action Plan, which explicitly calls for "strengthening whole-process control of coal mine gas." Furthermore, the revised Coalbed Methane (Coal Mine Gas) Emission Standards in 2024 lowered the prohibited gas concentration for emissions from 30% to 8%, further promoting methane reduction through the comprehensive utilization of drained gas in the coal industry.
The key role of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in methane emission reduction lies in its three core functions: front-end prevention, process management, and institutional coordination. It serves as a mandatory policy tool to drive precise emission control in the coal industry. This presentation will, based on the characteristics of typical coal mine methane emissions, exchange insights and explore the current state of methane assessment systems in China’s coal mine project EIAs.
The author has long been engaged in the environmental impact assessment of coal mining projects, with expertise in related research and standard development.
Coauthor 1: Jia Li