China developing over 1 billion tonnes/year of new coal mines: GEM

It is supplying more than half of the world’s total.

Following a slowdown in 2020, global coal output is on the rise again fueled by China where 1.280 billion tonnes per annum of coal mine capacity is being developed across 14 provinces.

According to Global Energy Monitor (GEM), proposed capacity accounted for 1.155 billion tonnes per annum. These are projects with a designed capacity of at least one metric tonne per annum, representing nearly double Australia’s total coal production from similarly sized mines.

The organisation said China is “now supplying more than half the world’s total and responsible for nearly half of all new proposals, posing a significant threat to the country’s dual-carbon goals.”

Currently, Beijing’s operating coal mines emit 52,726 million cubic metres (MCM) of methane annually, equivalent to approximately 35 million tonnes (Mt) of methane released each year, GEM said. This is nearly twice the emissions estimated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in their Global Methane Tracker, which reported that China’s coal mining sector was responsible for about 20 Mt of methane emissions in 2023.

With the planned expansion, the country is poised to become an even larger emitter of global coal mine methane emissions. If all proposed projects materialise, another 14,956 MCM of methane will be emitted annually, potentially accounting for nearly 75% of projected methane releases from proposed mines worldwide, GEM said.

“The potential for increased methane emissions from these new mines, coupled with the challenge of abandoned coal mine methane as China accelerates the closure of small-scale and inefficient operations, poses significant risks to China’s climate goals,” GEM said.