Greenhouse gas inventory for mines: an urge to develop clean technology.

As the global temperature is on the rise due to global warming, the issue of climate change is indeed a hot topic among the climate scientists and policy-makers worldwide. Claiming anthropogenic emissions as the primary cause of the prevailing climate change, every human activity is now under heavy scrutiny. Among others, mining is one of the fundamental activities which caters to the supply of raw materials to other basic industries and fulfils most of the energy needs of the human race and is believed to be a major contributor to the anthropogenic emissions. The present paper discusses a few case studies conducted in some Indian mines to estimate their respective carbon emissions. The accounting of carbon emissions due to mining activities is called as 'greenhouse gas inventory'. A brief look over the GHG inventory of some mines provides a succinct idea about contribution of mining industry to global emissions. The results highlight that emissions from mining industry are significant and cannot be overlooked. Thus it is required to develop clean technology to be implemented in mines to lower its emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]