United Kingdom
Emissions Profile
The United Kingdom is the world's 31st largest emitter of methane. Approximately 87 percent of its anthropogenic methane emissions—40.3 MTCO2E—come from agriculture, natural gas and oil systems, landfills, and coal mines.
Source: 2006 USEPA Report: Global Anthropogenic Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions:1990-2020 http://www.epa.gov/nonco2/econ-inv/international.html 
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Experience and Opportunities for Methane Projects
The United Kingdom has some 900 abandoned coal mines, of which around 400 are leaking methane into the atmosphere. Of those sites whose emissions can be controlled, about 12 are responsible for some 80 percent of the emissions. Half those sites incorporate control systems to utilize the gas. It is estimated that 52,000 tons of methane (990,000 MTCO2E) are emitted annually from abandoned mine sites that have the potential to be controlled.
International collaboration in the coal sector has been via the Technology Transfer and Exports Promotion, part of the DTI’s Cleaner Coal Technology Programme. This has supported (part-funded) bilateral technology transfer projects with China, India, and Russia.
In the landfill sector, the majority of landfill gas utilization schemes involve generating electrical power and supplying it to the national grid under NFFO or ROC agreements with power utilities. A few small projects supply local requirements at sites. There is almost no direct use of landfill gas.
The United Kingdom is the fourth largest natural gas producer, in the world with over 2,000 oil and gas fields. The United Kingdom Upstream Hydrocarbon Industry is regulated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Emissions of methane are currently regulated by a system of consents enacted under the Energy Act of 1976. All venting and flaring is reported to DTI and recorded in the Petroleum Production Reporting System (PPRS).
80 percent of UK methane emissions arising from agriculture come from enteric fermentation in the digestive systems of animals, and 20 percent from animal waste. The UK is researching options to directly reduce methane emissions from livestock including: changes to feed regimes; improving the longevity of dairy cows (and hence reduce number of replacements kept in the system); and directly reducing emissions by manipulating enteric fermentation processes (for example through genetic improvement). There are several examples of methane recovery systems using animal manures in use in the UK, but these are limited in number and cover only a very small proportion of the livestock sector. As part of new UK Climate Change Programme 2006, the UK will produce an AD strategy as part of its approach on renewable energy and move to a low carbon economy.
The UK is holding a high level international seminar of experts in November 2006 to identify opportunities, barriers and technologies for addressing methane emissions from agriculture under the auspices of the Methane to Markets Partnership Agriculture Subcommittee.
Other Background
The UK has codified certain tax breaks to encourage the beneficial use of coal mine methane for energy. This methane is exempted from the UK Climate Change Levy; if it is used for power generation, this exemption is worth 4.3 pounds per MWe.
The UK is examining the scope and feasibility of a market based mechanism, compatible with its aspirations for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and UK Emissions Trading Scheme, to facilitate trading of greenhouse gas reductions from agriculture and other land management sectors.
Committee Memberships
The United Kingdom participates in the following committees:
- Steering Committee
- Agriculture Subcommittee (Co-Chair)
- Coal Technical Subcommittee
- Oil and Gas Technical Subcommittee
- Landfill Technical Subcommittee
United Kingdom Subcommittee Contacts.
