Methane Mitigation Opportunities in China’s Energy-Sector Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan
5 August 2026 - On 26 June 2026, China’s National Energy Administration issued the Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in the Energy Sector (2026-2028) (hereinafter called the “Energy and Carbon Action Plan”), which aims to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, expand non-fossil energy sources, and promote low- and zero-carbon development across the energy sector.
The Energy and Carbon Action Plan does not establish quantitative methane-reduction targets. Instead, it includes measures to expand coal-mine gas utilization, alongside broader provisions on carbon accounting, emissions monitoring, technology development, and investment that could indirectly support methane mitigation.
The Energy and Carbon Action Plan provides that China will increase the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption by approximately 1 percent annually, and boost the share of coal-fired power capacity meeting current efficiency benchmarks by 15 percent by 2028[1]. It also states that China will develop a number of low- or zero-carbon areas for coal-mining and oil-extraction zones.
Coal Mine Methane
The Energy and Carbon Action Plan calls for innovation in coal-mine-gas utilization technologies, utilization across the full range of gas concentrations, development of coal-mine-gas-fired power generation and regenerative thermal oxidation projects, and broader on-site utilization of coal mine gas in mining areas. These provisions are important because the Plan’s emphasis on utilization across the full range of gas concentrations encompasses both higher-concentration gas that can be used as fuel and lower-concentration methane streams that might otherwise be vented. Regenerative thermal oxidation could also help treat very-low-concentration methane streams.
Oil and Gas Methane
The Energy and Carbon Action Plan promotes lower-carbon oil and gas production through renewable energy, electrification, energy-efficient equipment, and the development of low- and zero-carbon oil-producing areas. However, it does not directly address methane leakage, venting, or flaring. This is an important gap. The Plan covers oil and gas exploration, production, transmission, and storage—every stage where methane can escape—yet it does not address stopping leaks at any of these stages. One way to close this gap is to include methane-performance or methane-intensity requirements in the criteria for the low- and zero-carbon oil-producing area designations included in the Energy and Carbon Action Plan.
Carbon Accounting and Monitoring
The Energy and Carbon Action Plan calls for routine carbon-emissions accounting for coal mining, oil and gas production, transportation, storage, power generation, hydrogen, refining, and coal-derived fuels. It also promotes the development of emission factors, product carbon footprint standards, and digital platforms for carbon management. These systems could support methane mitigation, but only if they explicitly include methane emissions accounting and reporting, require facility-level data measurement whenever feasible, and incorporate ground, mobile, aerial, and satellite monitoring of methane emissions.
Conclusion
The Energy and Carbon Action Plan offers a useful policy framework for advancing coal mine methane mitigation, particularly through coal mine gas utilization, but its broader impact will depend on how effectively it is implemented. Priority next steps could include: adding methane mitigation and utilization projects to the energy sector’s key energy-conservation and carbon-reduction project database, strengthening facility-level methane-emissions measurement and monitoring, and incorporating methane-performance criteria, including appropriate intensity indicators, into low- and zero-carbon coal-mining and oil-producing area designations.
Additional IGSD China Resources:
- IGSD (13 July 2026) China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Beautiful China: Implications for Non-CO₂ Super Climate Pollutant Mitigation.
- IGSD (12 July 2026) The Methane Mitigation Opportunities in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New Energy System.
- IGSD (30 June 2026) China’s July 2026 Overseas Investment Regulation: Overseas Investment Must Follow Stricter Environmental, Compliance, and Risk Management Standards.
- IGSD (18 March 2026) China’s 15th Five-Year Framework Plan: Overview of Key Targets and Priorities for Mitigating Super Climate Pollutants.
[1] The target of increasing the share of coal-fired power-generation capacity meeting the energy-efficiency benchmark by 15% by 2028 was also included in the Three-Year Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Upgrades in Key Industries (2026).
