Satellite analysis identifies 40% more methane from Australian coal mines

A satellite analysis using TROPOMI data reveals that Australia's coal mine methane emissions are significantly under-reported. For the 2020 financial year, satellite estimates for six mining clusters—representing 79% of black coal production—were 40% higher than the national total reported by the National Greenhouse Accounts. The discrepancy is most pronounced in New South Wales, where fugitive emissions were found to be approximately twice as high as official reports in both 2020 and 2021. The report attributes some of this variability to the adoption of 'Method 2', a site-specific company-led estimation approach for open-cut mines that often results in lower reported emissions compared to state-based averages (Method 1).

• Satellite estimates for 2020 identified 1.42 ± 0.19 million tonnes of methane released from coal mines, which is 40% higher than the 1.01 million tonnes officially reported by the National Greenhouse Accounts, despite the study covering only 79% of Australia's black coal production.
• In New South Wales, satellite-derived fugitive emissions were significantly higher than official reports for two consecutive years: 721 kt in 2020 (compared to 379 kt reported) and 679 kt in 2021 (compared to 329 kt reported), while only accounting for roughly 61-64% of the state's coal production.
• In Queensland, 2020 satellite estimates indicated 0.69 ± 0.12 Mt of methane, which is 11% more than the total reported fugitive emissions for the state, based on modelling only four sub-regions.
• The shift from state-based (Method 1) to site-specific company-led (Method 2) emissions estimates for open-cut mines has led to a significant reduction in reported emissions; Reputex estimates this shift has decreased reporting by 65–70%.
• The study's coverage of more than 90% of Australia's metallurgical coal production suggests that significant emissions uncertainty is embedded in international steel supply chains, potentially risking access to European markets.
• Specific analysis of the Hail Creek mine using satellite and aircraft measurements (LIDAR and direct sampling) showed emissions 4 to 12.9 times higher than reported values.

APA

Wright, C., Setiawan, D., & Shannon, S. (2025). Satellite analysis identifies 40% more methane from Australian coal mines. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Report-Satellite-analysis-identifies-40-more-methane-from-Australian-coal-mines.pdf

Chicago

Wright, Chris, Dody Setiawan, and Sarah Shannon. Satellite analysis identifies 40% more methane from Australian coal mines. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Report-Satellite-analysis-identifies-40-more-methane-from-Australian-coal-mines.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wright |first1=Chris |last2=Setiawan |first2=Dody |last3=Shannon |first3=Sarah |title=Satellite analysis identifies 40% more methane from Australian coal mines |publisher=Ember |date=16 April 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Report-Satellite-analysis-identifies-40-more-methane-from-Australian-coal-mines.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wright2025satellite, author = {Wright, Chris and Setiawan, Dody and Shannon, Sarah}, title = {{Satellite analysis identifies 40\% more methane from Australian coal mines}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Report-Satellite-analysis-identifies-40-more-methane-from-Australian-coal-mines.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }