Methane emissions from the coal and natural gas industries in the UK

Coal-bed methane emissions, natural gas leakage and carbon dioxide equivalent coefficients (CDEC) were calculated for the UK and compared with other published estimates. Calculated methane emissions were higher than those reported by British Coal, 1.7 mt. vs 0.75 mt., and British Gas 1.9 - 5.7% leakage vs 1% leakage. Natural gas had a lower CDEC than coal except when using British Coal's data. These discrepancies, which have important implications for global methane emission estimates and reduction scenarios, are difficult to resolve without independent verification of data supplied by the fossil fuel industries.