Submission to the Clean Energy Regulator: Enhancing Method 2 for Coal Mine Emissions Reporting

Ember's submission to the Clean Energy Regulator argues for the reform of 'Method 2', the compulsory site-specific approach for reporting methane emissions from large open-cut coal mines in Australia. Ember asserts that current implementation is undermined by poor measurement, lack of verification, and transparency gaps, which could distort climate policy. The report suggests that adopting modern stationary and atmospheric measurement technologies, alongside data and verification reforms, could make Australia a global leader in emissions accuracy.

• Method 2 is a site-specific approach for estimating methane emissions at open-cut coal mines that has been used voluntarily since 2011 and is now compulsory for large open-cut coal mines across Australia. Ember's analysis indicates that the potential of this method has been undermined by transparency gaps, a lack of independent verification, and critical measurement issues.
• Ember argues that the uncertainty of site-specific emissions estimates requires urgent reform to improve Australia's emissions inventory and international confidence. Failure to address these issues could significantly distort climate policy at both federal and state levels.
• There is an opportunity to improve reporting accuracy through recent technological progress in atmospheric and stationary measurement approaches, provided these are combined with reforms in verification, modelling, and data collection.

APA

Wright, C. (2025). Submission to the Clean Energy Regulator: Enhancing Method 2 for Coal Mine Emissions Reporting. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/submission-to-the-clean-energy-regulator-enhancing-method-2-for-coal-mine-emissions-reporting

Chicago

Wright, Christopher. Submission to the Clean Energy Regulator: Enhancing Method 2 for Coal Mine Emissions Reporting. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/submission-to-the-clean-energy-regulator-enhancing-method-2-for-coal-mine-emissions-reporting.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wright |first1=Christopher |title=Submission to the Clean Energy Regulator: Enhancing Method 2 for Coal Mine Emissions Reporting |publisher=Ember |date=17 April 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/submission-to-the-clean-energy-regulator-enhancing-method-2-for-coal-mine-emissions-reporting |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wright2025submission, author = {Wright, Christopher}, title = {{Submission to the Clean Energy Regulator: Enhancing Method 2 for Coal Mine Emissions Reporting}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/submission-to-the-clean-energy-regulator-enhancing-method-2-for-coal-mine-emissions-reporting}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }