EU regulations to slash methane emissions from mines threatened to end coal and coke production in Poland after they were first dicussed earlier this year. Now industry analysts fear the EU is set to reduce its demands, which will save southern Poland’s coal mining sector but fail to protect the environment
The majority of Poland’s mines have a high presence of methane gas that gets released in the coal extraction process. That also leads to serious mining accidents as methane becomes explosive when mixed in low proportions with oxygen.
The regulations that are currently being discussed in the European Parliament introduce a standard of five tons of methane per 1,000 tons of non-coking coal mined from 2027. By 2031, this will be three tons of gas per 1,000 tons of coal, including coking coal. The original version allowed emissions of 0.5 tons of methane.
Government officials have warned that the introduction of methane regulations in the European Union could result in the death of the Polish thermal and coking coal sector. In recent weeks, they have called for the solidarity of members of various political options to support the “Polish interest” in the European Commission. This happened and on March 25, 2023, Polish MEPs signed a declaration in which they announced the blocking of the EU regulation. They do not agree with the current draft of the document proposed by the European Union.
Located in the southern Silesia region, the coal mines are among Poland’s major employers, offering some 77,000 jobs in the nation of 38 million.
But the EU must not succumb to Poland’s demands to dilute ambition on tackling methane emissions from coal mines, says Dr Sabina Assan, writing for Euractive.com. She argues that Stricter rules will help address climate change and ensure the future competitiveness of Poland’s coking coal industry.
Dr Sabina Assan is methane analyst at Ember and lead author of a recent publication on the gaps around coal mines in the EU’s methane regulation. Writing this week for Euractive.com she argues that the EU and Poland are making a mistake if they weaken the targets as methane reduction is one of the easiest ways to reduce climate damaging gas.
She writes: “As COP28 approaches, the European Union, preparing for the final trialogue negotiations of its proposed Methane Regulation, must set a global example and address its largest single source of fossil fuel methane, coal mines. Otherwise, the Union will jeopardise its ambitions of a 58% reduction in fossil fuel methane emissions.”
Methane gas is released before, during and even after coal is mined, as it is naturally embedded in coal and the surrounding strata. These gases pose security risks for miners and present climate concerns, with coal mine methane (CMM) emissions equaling annual CO2 emissions of 43 million cars. Even these figures may be underestimated, as the IEA calculated that EU coal mine methane emissions are 24% higher than officially reported.
Trilogue discussions involving the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament are expected to focus on an import standard. Nevertheless, domestic coal mine methane emissions risk being overlooked, failing to give this topic the scrutiny it deserves.
In 2021, at COP26, the EU was a key player in the Global Methane Pledge, endorsed by more than 150 countries with a common goal to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
“However, the EU’s current methane regulation text agreed upon by both the European Parliament and the European Council has already weakened the potential reductions from coal mines, with the Regulation now only enabling a maximum of 47% reductions from their largest fossil fuel methane source,” writes Dr Sabine. “Coal operators will be only required to implement the easiest solutions to achieve the proposed methane thresholds, such as improving drainage efficiency and reducing losses.
“The original proposal by the EU Commission sought to cut active thermal coal mines’ cumulative methane emissions by 70% by 2040. However, in December 2022, the EU Council adopted its general approach, which, after lobbying from Poland, the biggest CMM emitter in the EU, watered down the Commission proposal on coal mine methane mitigation.
“After further lobbying, in April 2023, the EU Parliament adopted the same weakened position, reducing the original target to a 34% reduction by 2040.”
But Dr Sabine argues this is a mistake: “Poland is losing out on a huge opportunity. Given methane’s shorter lifespan compared to carbon dioxide, reducing methane emissions from fossil fuels is one of the fastest-acting and most effective options to address climate change. With many available mitigation technologies, addressing these emissions becomes even more feasible. These technologies have the potential to slash methane emissions in the EU by half, offering not just environmental benefits but also economic advantages.”
Capturing and using this methane is one of the means to increase energy security and decrease energy costs, and Poland could become a leader in the EU’s methane reductions. The country alone could reduce European methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry by 15%, costing less than one euro per kilogram of methane.
Read Dr Sabina Assan’s full article on Euractive.com HERE
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