Skip to main content

UNECE updates its Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Drainage and Use in Coal Mines

The coal industry, national governments, trade unions, and worker safety advocates are concerned with the frequency and severity of methane explosions in coal mines, especially in emerging economies. No mine, even in the most developed countries, is free from safety risks. Regardless of location or mining conditions, it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of methane related incidents and explosions.

 

The second edition of UNECE’s Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Drainage and Use in Coal Mines released today will help disseminating good mining practices to all countries to ensure that risks are managed professionally and effectively.

 

This second edition captures the most critical developments in industry practices and regulations since the publication of the first edition in 2010. It also includes additional case studies that illustrate the application of the best practices in coal mines worldwide.

 

The Best Practice Guidance does not replace national or international laws and regulations. Rather, it complements them through a holistic approach to safer and more effective methane management practices. The methane management approach advocated in the Best Practice Guidance increases overall mine safety and productivity and reduces related greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Coal mines are a significant emissions source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28-34 times that of carbon dioxide. Methane totals 20% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions and coal mines release 8% of global anthropogenic methane emissions.

 

Today coal supplies around 30% of global primary energy and 40% of global electricity. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects a gradual slowing of global coal demand; however, emerging economies in Asia, in particular China and India continue to drive overall demand, which could reach 9 billion tonnes globally by 2019. Under this scenario, methane emissions from coal mines would increase significantly.

 

With continued dependence on coal production, coal extraction is expected to become increasingly challenging in many parts of the world as shallow reserves are exhausted and deeper and more gassy seams are mined. During the transition away from fossil fuels, it will thus be vitally important to minimise the environmental and social impacts of coal production by ensuring the safe extraction, transport, and use of methane throughout a coal mine’s life cycle. Recovering the energy from captured methane can also have significant economic benefits.


For more information, please visit: http://www.unece.org/energy/se/cmm.html, or contact  [email protected],  tel: +41 22 917 3158.
Note to editors

The second edition of Best Practice Guidance was developed under the overall guidance of the Executive Steering Committee consisting of three Vice-chairs of the Group of Experts on CMM: Ms Felicia A. Ruiz, Co-Chair of the Global Methane Initiative Coal Subcommittee, Mr Clark Talkington, Vice President of Advanced Resources International, Inc. and Mr Jacek Skiba, Senior Specialist of the Central Mining Institute in Katowice, Poland. The Technical Experts Revision Drafting Group that took the lead on drafting the text consisted of Mr David Creedy, Sindicatum Sustainable Resources, Mr Raymond C. Pilcher, Raven Ridge Resources, Mr Michael Cote, Ruby Canyon Engineering, and Mr Richard Mattus, RM Business Consulting. The Stakeholder Advisory Group provided valuable feedback on the applicability of best practices in Australia, India, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Ukraine, and the United States.

If you wish to subscribe to the UNECE Weekly newsletter, please send an email to:  [email protected]

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Information Unit

Tel.: +41 (0) 22 917 12 34

Email: [email protected]

Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged.