The seventeenth annual session of the Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane and Just Transition was held on 21-22 March 2022 in Geneva and online.
At the meeting, the Group continued its work to promote the reduction of GHG emissions from coal mines through activities that help the recovery and use of methane in order to reduce the risks of explosions in coal mines, mitigate climate change, and support sustainable development.
On the first day the Group of Experts discussed issues related to monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of methane emissions from coal mines. MRV is not only necessary to better understand the contribution of coal mining to the overall global methane emissions, but also can help to identify best opportunities for mitigation. The Group of Experts explored the most relevant international initiatives focused on methane emissions monitoring and mitigation, evaluate its own recent MRV-related activities, and outline a strategy for promoting best practices in this field. The first day of the meeting also featured the International Centres of Excellence on CMM (ICE-CMM) in Poland and China, which reported on their delivered and planned activities.
On 22 March the Group of Experts discussed best strategies for incorporating into its work the challenges related to just transition of the coal mining regions and determined the desired scope and focus of its activities in that field. It explored what contribution to the development and implementation of the just transition concept in the ECE region it can make from its own experience and expertise, and how it can help the member States to go through the transition process in the most effective way. The Group of Experts also gave attention to explosion risk reduction in coal mines, discussing the most recent accidents and trying to identify best practices helping to prevent them. The second day of the session closed with the twelfth joint meeting of the Group of Experts and the Global Methane Initiative (GMI) Coal Subcommittee.