Hong Kong (CNN) Chinese methane emissions are rising at an alarming rate despite recent government regulations aimed at curbing the climate-changing pollutant, a new report has revealed.

A study released in the journal Nature on Tuesday shows a steady growth in China's methane emissions, primarily from the country's massive coal mining sector, undermining Beijing's claims to be leading the world on climate change action.

"Methane emissions in China appear to be increasing, business as usual. We were unable to detect any impact of regulations on the country's methane emissions," the report's lead researcher Scot M. Miller told CNN.

China is among the world's largest emitters of methane. While methane is less prevalent in the earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it traps "28 times more heat" according to the Global Carbon Project.

In 2010 the Chinese government enacted a series of new polices requiring methane from coal mining to be captured, or to be converted into carbon dioxide.

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