<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-coal-mines-havent-cut-methane-emissions-but-hidden-them-with-offsets-and-accounting-tricks/>
"Australia’s coal mine methane are emissions are falling, according to official
data, through a combination of offset use, operational disruptions, and
accounting shifts rather than any actual significant abatement, a new study has
found.
The new analysis from global energy think tank Ember finds that Australia’s
coal mine methane (CMM) emissions fell in the last fiscal year to between 22.1
and 22.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), which is
approximately 3.5 per cent lower than 2024.
Unfortunately, according to Ember’s analysis, the bad news is that the decline
does not appear to reflect any broad structural efforts at decarbonisation
across Australia’s coal mining sector.
“The Safeguard Mechanism should be driving genuine methane cuts at coal mines,
not allowing compliance to be met through rising offset use and accounting
changes,” said Sougol Aghdasi, a CMM analyst at Ember.
“Without stronger incentives for on-site abatement, Australia risks reporting
progress while leaving major methane sources largely unaddressed.”
Methane is a particularly potent form of greenhouse gas. Even though it
persists for a short period – about 12 years – it more than 80 times more
effective at trapping heat than CO₂, and is responsible for around 30 per cent
of total warming since the Industrial Revolution.
Both Ember and the Australian government’s department of climate change,
energy, the environment, and water (DCCEEW) suggest that any evident declines
are due primarily to lower production from underground mines.
Ember’s analysis specifically points to underground mine closures and
accounting shifts, rather than any actual emissions reductions."
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
