Policy Update: Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises the “massive climate harm” of Coal Mine Methane but fails to outline steps to tackle it

The document analyzes the Australian government's proposed reforms to the safeguard mechanism and the subsequent Senate Committee inquiry. While the Committee acknowledged the "massive climate harm" of coal mine methane, Ember argues the final recommendations missed a key opportunity to mandate rigorous measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) standards or a separate emissions intensity baseline for methane. The brief highlights that current reporting may underestimate methane emissions by 63% and warns that unlimited access to carbon offsets (ACCUs) weakens incentives for onsite mitigation. It recommends implementing Level 5 Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 standards and setting specific methane baselines for coking and thermal coal mines.

• The Australian Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications acknowledged that coal mine methane emissions cause significant environmental damage and that Australia may be under-reporting these emissions by 63% based on 2023 IEA Methane Tracker data.
• The proposed Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2022 aims to achieve 205 million tonnes of CO2 abatement by 2030 using a production-adjusted emissions intensity baseline that declines by 4.9% annually.
• Current methane measurement in Australia is inconsistent; underground mines use direct measurements that often lack sensitivity, while surface mines rely on standardised estimates rather than direct measurement, risking the oversight of 'super-emitters'.
• The use of Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) to meet emissions baselines is criticized for reducing the incentive for facilities to invest in onsite emissions reductions, which is particularly problematic since methane is a potent gas that cannot be effectively offset by CO2 projects.
• New entrants to the safeguard mechanism could increase total emissions of major emitters by 146 Mt CO2-e by 2029-30; Ember further asserts that continued coal mine expansions could increase annual coal mine methane emissions by 50% by 2030.
• Ember recommends that the Australian government implement a separate production-adjusted emissions intensity baseline for methane, specifically 3 kg of methane per tonne of coal for coking coal mines and 1 kg per tonne for thermal coal mines.

APA

Reynolds, A. (2023). Policy Update: Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises the “massive climate harm” of Coal Mine Methane but fails to outline steps to tackle it. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/03/Safeguard-Mechanism-Policy-Update.pdf

Chicago

Reynolds, Annika. Policy Update: Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises the “massive climate harm” of Coal Mine Methane but fails to outline steps to tackle it. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/03/Safeguard-Mechanism-Policy-Update.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Reynolds |first1=Annika |title=Policy Update: Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises the “massive climate harm” of Coal Mine Methane but fails to outline steps to tackle it |publisher=Ember |date=9 March 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/03/Safeguard-Mechanism-Policy-Update.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reynolds2023policy, author = {Reynolds, Annika}, title = {{Policy Update: Australia’s Senate Inquiry recognises the “massive climate harm” of Coal Mine Methane but fails to outline steps to tackle it}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/03/Safeguard-Mechanism-Policy-Update.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }