Challenges and next steps

This report section discusses the integration of satellite-based methane emission estimates as a verification tool for coal production, specifically focusing on the potential for Australia to adopt a hybrid reporting framework similar to Canada's.

• Australia's current emissions quantification for coal production relies primarily on bottom-up estimates, making the addition of satellite estimations a necessary step for national and subnational verification processes.
• Canada has successfully implemented a hybrid emission reporting framework for its resources sector that uses an ensemble inversion top-down method and tower-based atmospheric measurements to independently verify bottom-up facility reporting based on a principle of "continuous improvement".
• The TROPOMI satellite instrument is identified as an effective tool for verifying emissions across clustered areas in Australia due to its global daily coverage and high temporal frequency, despite a spatial resolution of 7 km × 5.5 km that limits its ability to detect emissions from individual mines.
• Australia is well-suited for satellite methane monitoring due to bright, flat surfaces and clear skies; a study by Ember estimated that 91% of the country's annual coal production occurs in regions favorable for this monitoring.
• Comparing satellite estimates to reported emissions in Australia has been hindered by the fact that mine-level emissions are reported as CO2-equivalent (CO2e) rather than methane. However, starting in April 2024, the Safeguard Mechanism will release reported methane emissions as methane quantities.

APA

Ember (2025). Challenges and next steps. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/challenges-and-next-steps/

Chicago

Ember. Challenges and next steps. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/challenges-and-next-steps/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Challenges and next steps |date=16 April 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/challenges-and-next-steps/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025challenges, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Challenges and next steps}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/challenges-and-next-steps/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }