<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/ill-sign-you-drill-approach-to-fossil-fuel-development-has-overwhelmed-safeguard-mechanism/>
"Emissions from new coal mines and gas facilities across Queensland have
“overwhelmed” the Safeguard Mechanism, an environmental group says.
The Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) analysed the first tranche of data
released since Labor passed the reformed Safeguard Mechanism in 2023 and found
new fossil fuel projects in the state had increased greenhouse gas emissions by
830,000 tonnes.
The federal Labor government passed the Safeguard Mechanism in 2023 to create a
mechanism that would reduce emissions from large facilities generating more
than 100,000 tonnes of CO2-e in a year by ratcheting up requirements over time.
Each new project is allocated a “baseline” level of emissions by the Clean
Energy Regulator that is supposed to reduce over time, forcing the owner to
bring down emissions either directly or by offsetting.
Under the Safeguard Mechanism, emissions in Queensland increased by nearly
400,000 tonnes in 2023-24 to reach 37.5m tonnes, making up almost a third of
the state’s total emissions, according to the QCC’s analysis.
QCC Energy Strategist Clare Silcock said three new coal mines and two new gas
projects have come online in the state but emissions from “existing facilities”
have been steady, meaning total emissions have increased.
“It’s a real loophole that lets new entrants come online, so that overall
emissions increase,” Silcock said.
The analysis also found that nearly 70%, or 26.5m tonnes, of emissions
accounted for under the Safeguard Mechanism in Queensland are from coal and gas
facilities, of which nearly half are fugitive methane emissions.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in
the first two decades after it is released into the atmosphere.
A United Nations-backed study using satellites to measure actual fugitive
methane plumes from fossil fuel projects found in March that Glencore’s Hail
Creek coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin could be as much as eight times
more than what was officially reported."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
