Accounting shift drives emissions reduction

The report examines the impact of transitioning from state-based average emissions factors (Method 1) to site-specific estimates (Method 2) for fugitive methane emissions in Australian open-cut coal mines. It finds that this accounting shift has consistently decreased reported emissions by 65–70% according to Reputex, with a particularly stark effect in New South Wales, where reported fugitive emissions intensity is six times lower than the state-based factor.

• The transition from state-led emissions factors to company-led site-specific estimates has consistently reduced reported fugitive methane emissions by 65–70% for open-cut coal mines across Australia, affecting obligations under the reformed Safeguard Mechanism.
• In New South Wales, the reported fugitive emissions intensity of open-cut mines is six times lower than the official state-based emissions factor, a figure that is also significantly lower than the state-based factor for Queensland.
• There is a disparity in the adoption of site-specific accounting between states; in 2023, the Climate Change Authority estimated that 75% of reported coal mine methane emissions from Queensland used site-specific accounting, compared to only 25% from New South Wales.
• The site-specific approach (Method 2), implemented in 2011, allows operators to estimate methane content using as few as three borehole samples per mining domain, whereas the state-based approach (Method 1) uses averages developed since 1991.

APA

Ember (2025). Accounting shift drives emissions reduction. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/accounting-shift-drives-emissions-reduction/

Chicago

Ember. Accounting shift drives emissions reduction. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/accounting-shift-drives-emissions-reduction/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Accounting shift drives emissions reduction |date=27 March 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/accounting-shift-drives-emissions-reduction/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025accounting, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Accounting shift drives emissions reduction}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/accounting-shift-drives-emissions-reduction/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }