According to the study, the Australian coal region emits 1.6 million tonnes of methane a year

Australia’s first coal-producing region emits methane equivalent to the greenhouse gas effect of passenger vehicles with a 30m combustion engine, according to a new analysis using satellite data.

The study by energy industry consulting group Kayrros shows that the Bowen Basin, located on the border between the states of New South Wales and Queensland, released an average of 1.6 million tonnes a year. of methane in 2019 and 2020.

Based on the power of methane as a greenhouse gas, emissions are equivalent to 134 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the same as the CO2 emissions of a medium-sized European country. or 30 million combustion engine vehicles.

The Bowen Basin is the largest metallurgical coal exporting region in the world, with Anglo American and BHP among its major producers. Metallurgical coal is one of the key ingredients needed to make steel.

Methane emissions are the second leading cause of global warming after carbon dioxide. They have grown at a much faster rate than scientists expected, increased by a record amount last year.

Identifying these leaks can help governments, investors and the public demand accountability from companies and accelerate emission reduction.

Methane or plume leaks can come from a variety of sources, including oil and gas infrastructure, landfills, wetlands, and livestock. Mining also releases methane, with most of the industry’s emissions created during coal mining.

Although oil and gas companies have faced pressure to reduce methane emissions, the mining industry has come under less scrutiny even though most major companies have pledged to achieve net emissions on 2050.

The lack of accurate data has been one of the impediments, but through the use of satellite data from the European Space Agency, Kayrros said it would be possible to measure methane emissions in the Bowen Basin and track it. ‘evolution over time.

Bryce Kelly, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, said satellite-based methane emissions estimates were significant because they indicated “where we should focus on mitigation spending for minimize or eliminate the use of emission-intensive products ”.

However, Kelly noted that the Kayrros report needed verification higher resolution land and low-level airborne studies. “We have little information to verify the results because there is a lack of public domain data and a lack of independent measurement and auditing,” he said.

The mining industry has established techniques to capture methane, which can be used to generate electricity on site or sell to local gas networks, Kayrros noted. These include draining methane from the coal rows before they are extracted and capturing gas from the mine’s ventilation systems.

Anglo American said it captured a lot of methane emissions. BHP could not be reached immediately for comment.

Miners operating in the Bowen Basin are already capturing half of their potential methane emissions using these methods. If deployed on a larger scale, capture methods could reduce methane emissions by 650,000 tonnes a year without large investments, which is equivalent to taking 12 million vehicles off the road.

“For a cost that could be measured in tens of millions of dollars, in a couple of years you could reduce something of the order of 50 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year,” said Christian Lelong, director of natural resources of Kayrros and author of the report. “For me, it’s a mitigation opportunity that’s pretty hard to beat in terms of scale and cost.”