Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises “massive climate harm” of coal mine methane but fails to tackle it

This policy brief by Ember analyzes the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications’ Inquiry into the Safeguard Mechanism, arguing that while the committee acknowledged the significant climate impact of coal mine methane, its final recommendations failed to provide sufficient measures to address the issue.

• The Australian Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications acknowledged the significant climate damage caused by methane emissions from coal mines in Australia, but Ember asserts the committee's final recommendations did not adequately address the problem or support the government's goal of reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
• Ember proposes three specific improvements to the safeguard mechanism to mitigate coal mine methane: implementing measurement and monitoring standards equivalent to Level 5 of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, establishing production-adjusted emissions intensity baselines (3 kg of methane per tonne for coking coal and 1 kg per tonne for thermal coal), and restricting the use of SMCs and ACCUs by the energy sector to encourage onsite mitigation.

APA

Ember (2023). Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises “massive climate harm” of coal mine methane but fails to tackle it. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/safeguard-mechanism-policy-update

Chicago

Ember. Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises “massive climate harm” of coal mine methane but fails to tackle it. 2023. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/safeguard-mechanism-policy-update.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises “massive climate harm” of coal mine methane but fails to tackle it |date=9 March 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/safeguard-mechanism-policy-update |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2023australias, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises “massive climate harm” of coal mine methane but fails to tackle it}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/safeguard-mechanism-policy-update}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }