OPINION: The methane solution: A high-impact, low-cost strategy for rapid emission reduction
Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Richard Mattus is a Swedish industrial emissions expert with over 40 years of global experience, specialising in low-concentration methane mitigation. He led the 2025 UNECE Best Practice Guidance on Ventilation Air Methane (VAM) Mitigation.
Greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane help keep Earth habitable — without them, average global temperatures would be about 30° Celsius lower. But today, their unchecked increase is driving dangerous levels of warming. Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric CO2 has risen by 50%, while methane levels have more than doubled, intensifying short-term climate risks. Despite its outsized impact, methane remains an underutilised lever for fast, meaningful emission reductions.
Methane: A strategic opportunity often overlooked
While CO2 dominates most climate policy discussions, methane is emerging as a critical focus — especially for its potential to deliver rapid climate benefits. Methane remains in the atmosphere for roughly 12 years, far shorter than CO2, yet during that time it exerts a much stronger warming effect.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, methane is around 30 times more potent than CO2over a 100-year period. If compared on a 20-year timescale — more relevant for urgent climate planning — its impact increases to over 80 times that of CO2.This makes methane and VAM ideal targets for near-term mitigation.
"Looking at opportunities to reduce large-scale global methane emissions by 2030, VAM mitigation ranks among the top four," says Lena Isaksson-Höglund of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
Coking and thermal coal mines reality: methane will persist
While many thermal coal mines are expected to be phasing out, coking coal — essential for steelmaking — will remain a fixture of global industry for decades. Every coal mine — thermal and coking — is a major source of methane emissions and should have their VAM emissions mitigated until operations close down.
This presents a climate paradox: long-term decarbonisation of heavy industry will still be accompanied by methane leaks unless proactive measures are taken. VAM mitigation offers a path forward cutting emissions without prolonging the operational life of coal mines. Parts of the VAM mitigation systems are modular, relocatable, and proven to work in real-world conditions. This translates into cost reduction as parts of the systems can be used in new locations.
A ready-to-deploy technology: RTO for VAM
Among the technologies available and evaluated, Regenerative Thermal Oxidation (RTO) is the only one that is large-scale proven. Originally developed in the 1970s to control industrial air pollution, RTO has since been adapted for low-concentration methane and since 2007, successfully deployed for VAM mitigation in Australia, China, and the US.
A new EU-supported project in Poland is using RTO technology to capture VAM emissions at concentrations as low as 0.2%, showcasing its potential for wide-scale deployment. Global providers — including Anguil, Biothermica, Dürr, and Eisenmann Environmental —are equipped to deploy these systems. The engineering challenge has been met. The next hurdle is economic.
Making the market work: Why methane needs a price
The missing piece is financial. Without a meaningful carbon price or market credit, VAM systems cannot compete for capital against higher-margin climate solutions. Methane reductions must be properly valued to unlock investment.
Measured on a 20-year warming basis, RTO-based VAM mitigation costs as little as $7 per tonne of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). By comparison: carbon capture and storage (e.g. Stockholm Exergi) ~$200/tCO2e; and direct air capture $600-$1,000/tCO2e. VAM mitigation is not only climate-smart — it's cost-effective.
From pledge to action: A policy playbook
"VAM mitigation is implementation-ready," says Felicia Ruiz of the Clean Air Task Force. "Given the global importance of rapidly cutting methane emissions, reducing ventilation air methane from coal mines stands out as one of the most effective and immediately actionable strategies."
To unlock this opportunity, policy and finance leaders should: prioritise VAM mitigation in national methane strategies until mine closure; create standardised classifications - taxonomies and clear guidelines to define what qualifies as a credible methane reduction project from an investment perspective; establish a methane reduction price floor of at least $20/tCO2e to attract private capital; incorporate VAM into climate finance frameworks and Nationally Determined Contributions.
A rare alignment of readiness, impact, and value
VAM mitigation offers a rare convergence of technology readiness, economic efficiency, and climate urgency. The innovation already exists. What's needed now is valuation—a clear price signal to convert methane reductions into investable outcomes. With the right policy framework, VAM mitigation could deliver rapid, scalable, and cost-effective climate benefits — turning an overlooked liability into a strategic asset. For more information on VAM mitigation see the UNECE Best Practice Guidance on Ventilation Air Methane Mitigation.
The original version of this article was published on Kaj Embrén's blog page. Embrén is a senior advisor in sustainability with a focus on climate policies and actions.