‘Wake-up call’: methane emissions from Australian coalmines more than double official estimates, report finds | Greenhouse gas emissions

Emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from Australian coal mines are more than double official government estimates reported to the UN, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

Climate and energy analysts said the report once again highlighted a “massive gap” in reports of methane emissions from the country’s coal mines and should be a wake-up call.

of the IEA Global Methane Tracker report The report published on Monday stated that Australia’s coal mines, especially in Queensland and New South Wales, will release 1.7 million tonnes of methane in 2025.

The government’s latest emissions data compiled under the UN’s international agreement on climate change shows Australia’s coal mines released 0.82 million tonnes of methane; This is equivalent to 25 million tons of carbon dioxide.

The IEA’s data includes methane emissions measured by satellites, a method not used by the government.

Previous IEA reports have examined Australia’s coal and gas sector and found methane emissions could be 60% higher than official reports.

D., a methane analyst at energy think tank Ember. Sabina Assan said the IEA estimate “shows once again that methane emissions from Australia’s coal sector are grossly underreported.”

He said: “The size of the potential emissions should serve as a wake-up call for Australia to align its policies with climate science and commit to rapidly reducing coal mine methane – one of the cheapest and fastest ways to reduce warming today.”

According to the IEA, methane causes about 30% of the planet’s warming since the Industrial Revolution. The gas is approximately 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the planet over a 20-year period.

Reducing methane emissions is seen by climate experts as a way to quickly slow the rate of global warming because methane breaks down in the atmosphere in about 12 years compared to CO.₂ lasting more than a century.

The IEA report said 35 percent of methane emissions from human activities come from the fossil fuel sector; “Yet, despite well-known and proven mitigation pathways, there is no sign that methane emissions from fossil fuel activities are falling.”

Australian climate and energy analyst Tim Baxter said methane’s “immediate, permanent and drastic emissions cuts” could “provide enormous benefits as we work to reduce fossil fuel use wherever possible”.

He said Australia had a huge responsibility to reduce methane emissions from coal as it was one of the world’s largest exporters of coal.

“The Australian government is increasingly isolated in defending coal mine methane estimation methods,” he said.

“In fact, all independent assessments of Australia’s methods reveal massive gaps. The IEA’s latest report is just one in a large chorus of voices saying there is something very wrong with the way Australia estimates fossil methane emissions but the federal government refuses to hear.”

According to official estimates, Australia’s agriculture sector is the country’s largest emitter of methane at 2.25 million tonnes, compared with 1.17 million tonnes for the energy sector.

Methane emissions from Australian coal mines have fallen from 1.2 million tonnes in 2007 to 0.8 million tonnes in 2024. according to official data.

However Ember argued there was a reason for this Because more methane emissions are predicted this fall rather than measured directly.

A UN-backed study that flew monitoring equipment over a coal mine in Queensland found methane emissions were likely three to eight times higher than official reports.

Inside 2024 government creates an expert panel to review the way methane is measured.

Guardian Australia has approached climate and energy minister Chris Bowen’s office for comment.