How much methane is emitted from coal mines?
Globally, coal mines emit over 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually (over 28 billion cubic meters annually), or about 8% of total anthropogenic methane emissions. In 2005, U.S. coal mines emitted about 144 billion cubic feet of methane. Between 1994 and 2005, U.S. emissions decreased by over 20%, in large part due to the coal mining industry’s increased recovery and utilization of drained gas. China leads the world in coal mine methane emissions with nearly 200 million metric tons CO2E in 2004 (about 14 billion cubic meters annually). Other leading emitters are the U.S., Ukraine, Australia, the Russian Federation, and India.
