The protocol expands carbon crediting opportunities beyond active U.S. coal mines to include abandoned underground mines and projects globally

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors adopted the modular Mine Methane Protocol today, which provides guidance to account for, report, and verify GHG emission reductions associated with destroying methane that would have otherwise been vented to the atmosphere from active and abandoned underground coal and Category III gassy trona mines. The protocol broadens eligibility to additional project activities and locations, expanding opportunities to reduce mine methane emissions globally.

“When considering impactful climate solutions, targeting methane stands out as a high-impact opportunity,” said Robin Rix, President of the Climate Action Reserve. “Reducing methane emissions from coal and trona mines can deliver immediate, significant, and credible climate benefits. We are seeing growing interest in this project type from both developers and buyers, and look forward to accelerating reductions through the expansion of our high-quality carbon crediting program.”

Methane is a potent climate superpollutant with a global warming potential more than 28 times that of CO₂ over a 100-year period. The Reserve has extensive experience developing and administering high-integrity protocols for projects that reduce mine methane emissions. The U.S. Coal Mine Methane Protocol was originally adopted by the Reserve Board of Directors in October 2009 and helped inform the development of this protocol. To date, the Reserve has registered more than 8.7 million credits across 36 projects for mine methane reduction activities under its voluntary protocol and California’s compliance offset protocol.

“While most major coal-producing countries, including the U.S., do not mandate the capture and destruction of methane from active and abandoned mines, mine operators recognize the opportunity to voluntarily reduce methane emissions and contribute to climate solutions,” said Kristen Gorguinpour, Senior Vice President of Technical at the Reserve. “Expanding opportunities to address mine methane emissions globally will bring more mine operators into the carbon markets, delivering additional climate and community benefits.”

The Reserve’s modular protocol structure consists of the Mine Methane Protocol, which contains guidance applicable across jurisdictions, and jurisdiction modules, which contain location-specific conditions and requirements. This structure builds on the Reserve’s contextualized approach to protocol development, taking into account local policies and practices while enabling more efficient protocol development as we expand our impact globally. The U.S. Module for the Mine Methane Protocol underwent public comment and was approved by the Reserve today.

The Reserve welcomes market participants to submit concepts for additional jurisdiction modules and is also accepting project submissions globally under the modular protocol.

To learn more about the modular Mine Methane Protocol and other Reserve protocols, please visit: https://climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/.

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The Climate Action Reserve develops and implements trusted market-based programs to advance climate action for people and planet. A leader in high-integrity carbon accounting, we serve global carbon markets, envisioning a world cooperating to solve climate change at speed and scale.              

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