Comments About the Bill

Ember argues that Australia's 43% emission reduction target by 2030 is implausible without addressing coal mine methane (CMM), which dominates the energy sector's methane emissions. The submission urges Australia to join the Global Methane Pledge, improve its methane inventory to address potential underreporting, and adopt a 20-year emissions factor for domestic strategy to better reflect methane's short-term warming power.

• Coal mine methane (CMM) is the primary source of methane emissions from Australia's energy sector; in 2019, coal mines released 68% of the energy industry's total methane emissions, which is nearly three times the amount released by oil and gas facilities.
• Official reporting of coal mine methane emissions in Australia is likely underestimated; the International Energy Agency suggests emissions could be double the official records, with some mines leaking more than 10 times the reported amount.
• Australia is currently the 6th largest emitter of coal mine methane globally and could become the 3rd largest if current mine proposals proceed, making it the most significant developed nation that has not yet joined the Global Methane Pledge.
• Australia's target to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030 is considered implausible without addressing CMM, especially as approved mines could double Scope 1 & 2 emissions in New South Wales and Queensland.
• Ember recommends that Australia use methane's 20-year global warming potential (GWP) of 82.5 for its domestic climate strategy, as the standard 100-year factor (29.8) underestimates the gas's short-term impact.

APA

Ember (n.d.). Comments About the Bill. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Australia-Bill-Comments.pdf

Chicago

Ember. Comments About the Bill. n.d. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Australia-Bill-Comments.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Ember |title=Comments About the Bill |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Australia-Bill-Comments.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{emberndcomments, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Comments About the Bill}}, publisher = {Ember}, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Australia-Bill-Comments.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }