Bosnia and Herzegovina – Methane Regulations for the Coal Sector

Rationale

This project responds to a request from Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (MOFTER) and relevant energy and environmental institutions for support on coal mine methane (CMM) abatement under the Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme (FFRP).

The project will strengthen institutional and technical capacity to advance methane mitigation planning, regulatory development and policy alignment in the coal sector.

It will support the development of monitoring and reporting systems, strengthen technical capacity and assess active and abandoned coal mines for methane capture and utilization opportunities. The work will contribute to Bosnia and Herzegovina's National Energy and Climate Plan and updated Nationally Determined Contribution.

The project is part of CCAC's Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme (FFRP).

Objectives

The project aims to support Bosnia and Herzegovina to:

• Develop an MRV system for coal mine methane emissions aligned with relevant regulatory requirements.
• Strengthen government capacity to manage and enforce methane regulations in the coal sector.
• Identify priority opportunities for coal mine methane and abandoned mine methane mitigation.
• Strengthen the capacity of mining companies and sector stakeholders to support methane project development and environmentally sound mine closure.

Activities

To achieve these objectives, the project will:

• Assess legal and regulatory gaps related to methane monitoring and reporting.
• Develop draft MRV regulations and associated reporting templates.
• Organize workshops with government and industry stakeholders on MRV, enforcement mechanisms and international good practice.
• Support consultation and finalization of the MRV regulatory framework.
• Deliver technical training on coal mine methane abatement strategies and technologies.
• Provide ongoing advisory support to relevant institutions for implementation planning.
• Conduct assessments of priority active and abandoned coal mines to identify CMM and AMM opportunities.
• Develop a pre-feasibility study framework adapted to local conditions.
• Train mining companies and stakeholders to conduct CMM/AMM pre-feasibility assessments.
• Provide technical training on environmentally sound mine closure.
• Support stakeholders to collect data, estimate emissions and adapt MRV templates to site conditions.

Latest update

Coal Mine Methane in Bosnia and Herzegovina: From Hazard to Energy

September 2026

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Sarajevo Energy & Climate Week (SECW) 2026 brought together government representatives, technical experts and international partners to discuss how Bosnia and Herzegovina can move from coal mine methane mitigation potential towards implementation.

The discussion highlighted the importance of stronger regulation and MRV, institutional capacity, mine-level data and investment to support viable methane mitigation and utilisation projects.

These priorities directly support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme project on methane regulations for the coal sector. The project will strengthen the regulatory and MRV framework, build institutional and technical capacity, and assess priority active and abandoned coal mines for methane mitigation opportunities.

Read more about the SECW discussion

Related project

Bosnia and Herzegovina has also completed a CCAC-supported national planning project to develop a National SLCP Emissions Reduction Plan, a Methane Emissions Reduction Roadmap and an integrated MRV framework.