Public Comments to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the reconsideration of 15 coal projects

Ember argues that approving 15 reconsidered coal projects would increase Australia's annual coal mine methane emissions by approximately 190 thousand tonnes. The organization emphasizes that meeting the 1.5C warming limit requires a 75% reduction in energy sector methane emissions by 2030, which cannot be achieved through mitigation technology alone without reducing coal production. Ember specifically recommends closing the gassiest thermal coal mines and avoiding new thermal coal mines, while suggesting that metallurgical coal mines only be approved if they employ available mitigation technologies and cooperate with the UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory.

• The approval of the 15 coal projects under reconsideration would increase Australia's annual coal mine methane emissions by approximately 190 thousand tonnes, representing a one-fifth increase. Of this total, 120 thousand tonnes, or 63%, would originate from thermal coal mines.
• Five specific projects—China Stone, Winchester South, Caval Ridge, The Range, and Alpha Rail—utilized outdated emission factors, meaning their actual fugitive emissions are likely higher than estimated. Additionally, six projects (Spur Hill, Meandu Mine, Valeria, Lake Vermont, Baralaba, and Moorland) provided no publicly available emission estimates for fugitive emissions.
• To limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicates that methane emissions from the coal mining industry must be reduced by 75% from 2020 levels by 2030. Ember asserts that this target cannot be met solely through mitigation technologies without also reducing coal production.
• Coal mines in Queensland and New South Wales are the primary sources of Australia's coal mine methane (CMM) emissions, which exceeded 1 million tonnes in 2020. Coal mines account for 23% of Australia's total methane emissions and over 75% of methane emissions from the energy sector.

APA

Assan, S. (2022). Public Comments to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the reconsideration of 15 coal projects. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Reconsidered-Projects-QSD-1.pdf

Chicago

Assan, Sabina. Public Comments to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the reconsideration of 15 coal projects. Ember, 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Reconsidered-Projects-QSD-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Assan |first1=Sabina |title=Public Comments to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the reconsideration of 15 coal projects |publisher=Ember |date=23 November 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Reconsidered-Projects-QSD-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{assan2022public, author = {Assan, Sabina}, title = {{Public Comments to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the reconsideration of 15 coal projects}}, publisher = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/11/Reconsidered-Projects-QSD-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }