Emissions of the potent greenhouse fuel methane at a Queensland coalmine had been probably between three and eight occasions larger than formally reported, in accordance with UN-backed analysis that flew plane over the positioning.
Queensland’s open-cut coalmines are recognized to be a significant supply of methane and consultants are frightened that official figures may very well be a gross underestimation of precise emissions.
The analysis, a part of the UN surroundings programme’s Worldwide Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO), is regarded as the primary time monitoring gear on plane have been used to immediately measure a coalmine’s methane emissions.
Two plane with several types of monitoring gear and flying at totally different altitudes appeared for plumes of methane coming from Glencore’s Hail Creek coalmine within the Bowen Basin – a website highlighted in a earlier research as a significant emitter.
Glencore challenged the outcomes of the analysis, revealed within the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Environmental Science and Expertise Letters.
In 2023, the mine reported whole emissions of 0.53m tonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) – together with methane and different CO2 emissions – to the federal government’s safeguard mechanism scheme, which covers websites with excessive emissions.
However information collected by the UN workforce’s plane urged emissions simply from Hail Creek’s escaping methane had been probably between 1.5Mt and 4.2Mt CO2e per 12 months.
Dr Stephen Harris, on the College of New South Wales and UNEP’s IMEO, mentioned the 2 plane carried several types of methane monitoring gear however yielded comparable outcomes, “increasing confidence in our results”.
“The results suggest this open-cut coalmine, previously identified by satellites as one of the Bowen Basin’s higher emitters, is releasing methane at higher rates than official estimates based on widely used emission factors in Queensland.
“This tells us that more advanced, mine-specific inventory methods – verified by atmospheric measurements – are needed at this facility.”
Ranges of methane within the ambiance have greater than doubled since preindustrial occasions, contributing about 0.5C of the worldwide heating measured up to now. The fuel has been rising at a file tempo in recent times and two-thirds of emissions are human-caused.
Methane is about 80 occasions stronger than carbon dioxide over a 20-year interval at warming the planet. Chopping these emissions is seen as a fast approach to sluggish world heating.
Australia is considered one of 159 international locations to have signed a pledge to chop methane emissions by 30% within the decade to 2030.
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The Albanese authorities is reviewing how miners calculate the quantities of methane launched as they dig for coal. Giant emitters have been requested to maneuver from utilizing industry-wide estimates to direct measurements.
However the Local weather Change Authority and others are involved the present framework for utilizing direct measurements – often called “method 2” – is outdated and will additionally underestimate emissions.
An skilled group chaired by the previous chief scientist, Cathy Foley, which has been given the UN-led research to assessment, is analyzing the methodology.
A report final 12 months from RepuTex, an power and carbon market modelling consultancy, mentioned as mines moved to methodology 2 there would in all probability be a fall in methane emissions reported till the framework was tightened to handle integrity issues.
A spokesperson for the local weather change and power minister, Chris Bowen, mentioned: “The Albanese government has taken strong action to improve methane measurement and continues to progress opportunities identified by the Climate Change Authority in their review of the scheme.”
Glencore mentioned in a press release it had “significant doubts” in regards to the analysis, claiming it used “out of date” information with aerial surveys over a interval representing “less than 1% of the mine’s operating period over a two-year period”.
The corporate mentioned it had moved to “method 2” of measuring emissions at Hail Creek final 12 months and all its Australian coalmines had been now utilizing this methodology. The research didn’t replicate “inherent mining variability” or emissions upwind of the mine.
“We believe these deficiencies in the paper published by ACS highlight again the shortfalls of satellite/remote sensing methods and unsuitability for annual inventory reporting,” the assertion mentioned.
The corporate was investigating methods “to abate fugitive emissions feasibly and practicably at our open cut mines,” the assertion added.
