Methane emissions from proposed coal mines could heat the planet more than the carbon dioxide emissions from all current U.S. coal plants, E&E reports. The Global Energy Monitor report, published last week, says going ahead with 432 proposed coal mines worldwide – including 13 in the United States – would yield a 30% increase in coal mine methane emissions equivalent to 1,135 million tons of CO2 annually (based on a 20-year horizon). Though it lingers in the atmosphere for a shorter period of time than CO2, methane — the main component in “natural gas” — is a far more potent greenhouse gas. Multiple proposed mines in the U.S., including in West Virginia, Alabama, and Colorado, could emit so much methane it would account for close to half their total greenhouse gas pollution, according to the report. (E&E $)
