Introduction

Methane emissions as a result of coal mining constitute ten percent of the total human-related methane emissions. Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) with a radiant forcing about 23 times greater than that of carbon dioxide on a mass basis. In many developed countries these emissions are already captured and used as an alternative energy source. The technology of capturing and converting the emission into an energy source could also be transferred to the areas with a significant coal mine methane emissions potential. In particular, the project identified countries of  Central and South-Eastern European Countries and in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as the ones which have one of the largest coal mine methane emissions in the UNECE region.

The objective of the project is to raise the awareness of the benefits that coal mine methane has in economic, social and environmental terms. A successful CMM project could utilize coal mine methane emissions as an energy source, improve mine safety and air quality in the area and have a positive spill over into the level of local employment and investment. The benefits of reduced level of emissions could also be used in the carbon emissions trading market.

In order to reach these objectives we aim to develop three or more financially viable project documents which will be submitted to the investment funds affiliated with the UNECE's Energy Efficiency 21 Project. A short summary of the project is available below.