China has announced plans to submit its 2035 nationally determined contribution (NDC) ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil.
Source: 21st Century Business Herald
China has announced plans to submit its 2035 nationally determined contribution (NDC) ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil. The new target will cover all greenhouse gases across the entire economy, reinforcing the country’s long-term climate commitments. Speaking at the 2025 Methane Conference in Beijing, Liu Yang, Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s Department of Climate Change, said that 2025 marks both the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the start of planning for the 15th. In this pivotal year, he said, China will continue to implement its national climate strategy with a renewed focus on methane reduction in high-emitting sectors—especially coal—and on accelerating the shift to a green, low-carbon economy.
Coal mining is one of China’s largest sources of fugitive methane emissions. According to Liu Wenge, Deputy Director at the Coal Information Institute under the Ministry of Emergency Management, methane’s global warming potential is roughly 28 times that of carbon dioxide, as outlined in the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. Global methane emissions totaled around 580 million tonnes in 2023, with coal mining accounting for an estimated 40 million tonnes.
“China has long prioritized the recovery and utilization of coal mine gas,” said Tang Jiaxuan, Director of the Advisory Center at the China National Coal Association. “Coal remains the biggest source of methane leakage in the country, and managing it is essential for both safety and climate goals.”
Methane control efforts have already delivered notable benefits—especially in improving coal mine safety. “Over more than a decade of methane control campaigns, the fatality rate per million tonnes of coal produced in China dropped from 0.798 in 2010 to 0.044 in 2022,” Liu Wenge said. “Total methane emissions from coal mines stand at roughly 25 million tonnes. Voluntary emissions reduction initiatives have made abatement more economically viable, driven technological progress, and improved the use of low-concentration methane.”
Still, challenges remain—particularly when it comes to low-concentration methane, which makes up about 80% of all sealed and vented coal mine gas. Tang noted that the technology to capture and utilize this methane is still immature and often not cost-effective.
“Scaling up voluntary projects isn’t just a technical issue—it’s also an economic and social challenge,” he said. “We need a coordinated effort, led by government, to mobilize top research institutions, invest in core technologies and equipment, and improve policy and market frameworks.”
He called for more government support for early-stage research, especially in developing affordable methane recovery technologies, as well as stronger policy incentives to ensure large-scale projects can move forward.
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