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

Ember provides feedback to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water regarding 15 coal mine proposals, arguing that their approval would significantly increase coal mine methane (CMM) emissions and hinder Australia's ability to meet international climate targets.

• Coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland are the primary sources of Australia's coal mine methane emissions, which exceeded 1 million tonnes in 2020. Coal mining accounts for more than 75% of the energy sector's methane emissions and 23% of the country's total methane emissions.
• If the 15 coal projects under reconsideration are approved, Australia's annual coal mine methane emissions would increase by approximately 190 thousand tonnes, representing a one-fifth increase in current annual emissions. Thermal coal mines would contribute 120 thousand tonnes, or 63%, of this increase.
• Ember identifies data gaps and inaccuracies in the project proposals: five projects (China Stone, Winchester South, Caval Ridge, The Range, and Alpha Rail) used outdated emission factors, and six projects (Spur Hill, Meandu Mine, Valeria, Lake Vermont, Baralaba, and Moorland) provided no publicly available fugitive emission estimates.
• To limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that coal mining methane emissions must be reduced by 75% from 2020 levels by 2030. Additionally, as a signatory to the Global Methane Pledge as of October 23, 2022, Australia is part of a collective goal to reduce global anthropogenic methane emissions by over 30% by 2030.
• Ember recommends against opening new thermal coal mines, particularly those used for electricity, and advises against new gassy metallurgical coal mines. For non-gassy metallurgical mines, approval should be contingent on using available mitigation technologies like VAM destruction for underground mines and pre-drainage for open-cut mines.

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 report |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

@techreport{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}}, institution = {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} }