Should a steel plant buying Jharia coking coal count mine methane in Scope 3?
Yes, if you report category 1 for coal. Methane escapes from the seam during mining, and deep coking coal seams release more than surface mines. Without mine data, IPCC Tier 1 gives 18 cubic metres of methane per tonne for underground mining, a default with a wide range.
The default
- Underground mining: 10 to 25 cubic metres per tonne, 18 average (IPCC 2006).
- Post mining handling: about 2.5 cubic metres per tonne more.
- Surface mining: 0.3 to 2.0, 1.2 average.
- One cubic metre of methane weighs about 0.67 kg.
Better than default
Ask the supplier which mines the coal comes from and whether they measure ventilation methane. Mixed underground and opencast supply needs a weighted figure.
Where it goes
Mine methane is upstream of your plant, so it is Scope 3 for you. It is not part of the CBAM figure for steel.
What Senseible does here
Senseible turns supplier invoices into a Scope 3 record with the supplier, quantity and factor behind every figure, so you can see which supplier data is still missing.
Sources: 2006 IPCC Guidelines, Volume 2: Energy, GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
Last reviewed 2026-10-21.