Coal companies in Indonesia, a major emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), are ignoring planet-warming methane emissions, obscuring the full environmental impact of their operations, according to a report published Monday (29/7).
Methane – which accounts for about a third of greenhouse gas warming – is a key focus for countries looking to rapidly cut emissions and slow climate change.
London-based energy think tank Ember analysed the emissions profiles of 10 major coal mining companies in Indonesia, which are collectively responsible for half of the country’s coal production.
They found that only four out of 10 companies included coal mine methane (CMM) emissions in their emissions inventories, suggesting that the environmental impacts of coal mining in Indonesia are not being fully accounted for.
“Failing to understand or report these emissions appropriately undermines a company’s overall sustainability reporting. It also ignores potentially significant missed opportunities for emissions reductions,” the report said.
The companies’ CMM emissions “could exceed 8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, more than a third of the companies’ total potential emissions,” Ember said in a press release.
CMM emissions from most of Indonesia’s major coal companies may be “equivalent to or greater than” their total emissions from fossil fuel combustion and purchased electricity, the report said.
CMM, which is categorized as fugitive emissions or unintentional releases, refers to methane released when coal is extracted or topsoil is removed.
Methane only stays in the atmosphere for about a decade, but it has a warming effect 28 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time scale. Over a 20-year time scale, its warming effect is about 80 times greater than CO2.
Analysts are urging Indonesian coal companies to start taking the impact of methane emissions seriously to meet sustainability standards.
“Measuring and reporting methane emissions will be crucial in efforts to decarbonize coal mining and ensure compliance with national and international standards,” said Ember analyst Dody Setiawan.
Indonesia is a signatory to the voluntary Global Methane Pledge and the government says it has committed to “taking comprehensive domestic action to achieve global methane emission reductions” by 2030. (ns/time)
