China Proposes Strengthened Regulatory Action and Additional Market Measures to Mitigate Coal Mine Methane Emissions

30 July 2024- China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) released a draft regulatory amendment and an emission trading methodology to strengthen methane emissions reduction in the coal mine sector. Both documents are open for public comment until the dates specified below and may be formally promulgated in the coming months, subject to MEE internal processes. Further details on these two documents are listed below.

1. Emissions Standard for Coalbed Methane/Coal Mine Gas (Draft Amendment for Public Comments) (open for public comment until 31 August 2024)

China’s current (pre-amendment) Emissions Standard for Coalbed Methane/Coal Mine Gas (GB 21522-2008) was issued in 2008, prohibiting direct emissions of coal mine gas with a concentration of 30% or more. Key highlights from the 2024 draft amendment of this emissions standard include:

• Adding requirements to ensure the safety of transportation, utilization, and discharge of low-concentration coal mine gas in accordance with GB 40881 (the 2021 standard for security system design of low-concentration gas pipeline transportation);

• Requiring that coal mine gas with a concentration of 8% or more (the draft amendment also clarifies that methane concentration refers to the hourly average concentration) and extraction purity at 10 cubic meters per minute or more shall not be directly emitted;

• Encouraging reutilization of coal mine gas with a concentration below 8%;

• Requiring monitoring of methane concentrations of coalbed methane, high- and low-concentration coal mine gas, and ventilation air methane with details on monitoring locations and related technical specifications; and

• Providing an exemption for direct emissions of coal mine gas in emergency situations.

If promulgated as proposed, the amended emissions standard would strengthen China’s regulatory requirements on methane emissions from the coal mine sector. However, the amended emissions standard applies only to new and existing coal mines. Therefore, this leaves a policy gap to be filled with respect to methane emissions from abandoned coal mines. Abandoned coal mines in China remain a significant source of methane emissions, as reflected in studies such as Gao et al., 2020, and Kang et al., 2023.

2.   Greenhouse Gas Voluntary Emission-Reduction Project Methodology for Utilization of Low-Concentration Gas and Ventilation Air Methane in the Coal Mine Sector (Draft for Comments) (open for public comment until 12 August 2024)

This draft Methodology applies to projects that process coal mine gas with a concentration of 8% or less and ventilation air methane using flameless oxidation technology to produce heat for power generation. These projects have the potential of mitigating about 20 million tons of CO₂e by 2030, according to MEE data. MEE authorities coordinated the draft methodology with the 2024 Draft Amendment of the Emissions Standard for Coalbed Methane/Coal Mine Gas to further incentivize coal mine methane utilization and reduction.