Rising Coal Production, Falling Emissions

Australia's reported fugitive emissions from coal mining have decreased by over 20% since 2005, despite raw coal production increasing by 170% between 1990 and 2022. While some reductions are attributed to mitigation investments, such as VAM-to-power projects and pre-mine drainage, the report argues that the trend is largely driven by a shift toward open-cut mining, the closure of high-emitting underground mines, and changes in emissions accounting methods.

• Australia's raw coal production rose from 201 million tonnes in 1990 to 542 million tonnes in 2022, representing a 170% increase. During this period, open-cut mining increased by 224% and underground mining by 46%.
• Reported fugitive emissions from coal mining have decreased by over 20% since 2005, and the average fugitive emissions intensity per tonne of coal fell by 63% between 1990 and 2022. In the 2024 financial year, these emissions dropped by 7.6%.
• While fugitive emissions have fallen, total direct Scope 1 emissions from coal mining—which include diesel fuel and processing—have increased by 32% since 1990.
• Specific mitigation efforts contributed to emissions reductions, including the West Cliff Colliery's VAM-to-power project (reducing 2 million tonnes of CO2-e between 2007 and 2017) and Anglo American's pre-mine drainage investments (potentially mitigating 5.3 million tonnes of CO2-e compared to 2019 levels).
• The report identifies three primary drivers for the shift in emissions reporting over the last 30 years: a transition toward open-cut mining, the unplanned closure of 'super-emitting' underground mines (including the Grosvenor mine), and changes in how open-cut mine emissions are calculated over the last 15 years.

APA

Ember (2025). Rising Coal Production, Falling Emissions. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rising-coal-production-falling-emissions/

Chicago

Ember. Rising Coal Production, Falling Emissions. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rising-coal-production-falling-emissions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Rising Coal Production, Falling Emissions |date=27 March 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rising-coal-production-falling-emissions/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025rising, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Rising Coal Production, Falling Emissions}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rising-coal-production-falling-emissions/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }