Submission to the Climate Change Authority’s Issues Paper - May 2023 Ember’s recommendations for setting, tracking and achieving Australia’s emissions reduction targets, with a focus on the measurement and mitigation of coal mine methane

This submission by Ember to the Climate Change Authority (CCA) recommends an ambitious approach to measuring and mitigating coal mine methane emissions in Australia. Ember argues that current reporting is significantly underestimated and that a combination of increased federal regulation, a national methane action plan, and a phased production phaseout of fossil fuels is necessary to meet 1.5C pathways and net zero by 2050.

• Ember estimates that Australia's coal mine methane emissions could be reduced by 78% by 2030-2035, which would equate to a 6% reduction in total reported greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 levels and an 18% reduction in total reported methane emissions from 2020.
• Current reporting of coal mine methane is likely inaccurate; the IEA's 2023 Methane Tracker suggests Australia under-reports these emissions by 60%. While the government reports coal mine methane as approximately 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, addressing under-reporting could raise this figure to roughly 7%.
• Ember warns that if all currently proposed new coal mines and expansions proceed, coal mine methane emissions could increase by up to 50% by 2030, potentially locking in higher fugitive emissions for two decades.
• The document argues that the reformed safeguard mechanism is insufficient for driving significant methane reductions because it does not directly regulate or incentivise onsite methane emissions reduction in the coal sector.
• Ember recommends a comprehensive overhaul of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) framework, specifically calling for the phaseout of Methods 1 and 2 for open cut mines and the implementation of direct, site-specific measurement standards.
• A phaseout of thermal coal mining by 2030 is estimated to reduce Australia's coal mine methane emissions by nearly half. Ember suggests that combining this phaseout with the closure of the gassiest mines and onsite mitigation could achieve the 78% reduction target by 2030.
• To align with the IEA's net zero by 2050 pathway, Ember estimates that coal production needs to decrease from approximately 500 Mt to 200 Mt by 2030, primarily through reductions in thermal coal.

APA

Reynolds, A. (2023). Submission to the Climate Change Authority’s Issues Paper - May 2023 Ember’s recommendations for setting, tracking and achieving Australia’s emissions reduction targets, with a focus on the measurement and mitigation of coal mine methane. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-Submission-to-2023-CCA-Review-Issues-Paper.pdf

Chicago

Reynolds, Annika. Submission to the Climate Change Authority’s Issues Paper - May 2023 Ember’s recommendations for setting, tracking and achieving Australia’s emissions reduction targets, with a focus on the measurement and mitigation of coal mine methane. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-Submission-to-2023-CCA-Review-Issues-Paper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Reynolds |first1=Annika |title=Submission to the Climate Change Authority’s Issues Paper - May 2023 Ember’s recommendations for setting, tracking and achieving Australia’s emissions reduction targets, with a focus on the measurement and mitigation of coal mine methane |publisher=Ember |date=30 June 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-Submission-to-2023-CCA-Review-Issues-Paper.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reynolds2023submission, author = {Reynolds, Annika}, title = {{Submission to the Climate Change Authority’s Issues Paper - May 2023 Ember’s recommendations for setting, tracking and achieving Australia’s emissions reduction targets, with a focus on the measurement and mitigation of coal mine methane}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-Submission-to-2023-CCA-Review-Issues-Paper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }