Coal mines supplying steel mills will face new methane scrutiny

Mines supplying coal for steelmaking will face new pressure over methane emissions as a United Nations watchdog expands its work.

The International Methane Emissions Observatory will extend a program that currently alerts oil and gas producers and governments to releases of the greenhouse gas detected by satellite, according to a report published Friday.

Methane emissions from metallurgical coal production account for about 30% of the short-term climate footprint of the steel industry, IMEO said. The cost to mitigate that impact could be as low as 1% of the price of steel, according to the organization.

Coking coal suppliers including Anglo American and BHP Group are among companies implementing and testing methods aimed at reducing methane pollution. Addressing 100% of fugitive emissions will likely require “significant technological progress,” BHP said in a June presentation.

IMEO’s alert program is intended to sound the alarm on emissions, and to press companies and policymakers to take action to address them.

Since 2023, the agency has prompted major releases from oil and gas sites in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Nigeria and the US to be halted, the report said. However, of more than 1 200 alerts that have been issued, IMEO received substantive responses in only 1% of cases.