TAIYUAN -- North China's coal-rich Shanxi province achieved a record coalbed methane output of 3.53 billion cubic meters in the first quarter of this year, up 14.5 percent year on year, according to the provincial statistics bureau.

As an unconventional natural gas, coalbed methane is considered a clean and strategic energy resource. Its utilization can help reduce risks in mining, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and ease gas shortages.

Shanxi holds abundant coalbed methane reserves, with an estimated 8.31 trillion cubic meters of resources buried at depths of less than 2,000 meters, nearly one-third of the national total.

In recent years, Shanxi has taken the lead nationwide in establishing major coalbed methane production bases.

In 2024, the province produced 13.43 billion cubic meters of coalbed methane, accounting for approximately 80.6 percent of China's total output. This output was equivalent to reducing nearly 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

China has pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

China cut its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 35 percent between 2012 and 2023 due to the country's clean energy transition, along with efforts to phase out outdated industrial capacities.