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

The document critiques the findings of the Australian Senate Inquiry into the Safeguard Mechanism, noting that while the committee acknowledged the "massive climate harm" of coal mine methane, its final recommendations failed to provide a sufficient plan to tackle the issue. Ember proposes three specific improvements: implementing Level 5 Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 measurement standards, setting production-adjusted emissions intensity baselines (3 kg/tonne for coking coal and 1 kg/tonne for thermal coal), and limiting the use of offsets (ACCUs and SMCs) to prioritize onsite mitigation.

• The Australian Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications acknowledged the significant environmental impact of coal mine methane emissions but did not include sufficient measures in its final recommendations to meet the government's goal of a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030.
• Ember recommends that all coal mines adopt measurement and monitoring standards equivalent to Level 5 of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 to improve monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).
• To effectively reduce emissions, Ember proposes production-adjusted intensity baselines of 3 kg of methane per tonne for coking coal and 1 kg per tonne for thermal coal, alongside restrictions on using Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs) to ensure onsite mitigation is prioritized.

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} }