The International Energy Agency and independent scientific experts have found that Australia is dramatically under-reporting methane emissions. This is because Australian and State Governments allow coal & gas companies to use out of date and inaccurate estimation methods to report methane emissions, rather than directly measuring methane. That makes mining coal & gas even more polluting than companies tell us, because they aren't required to measure they're huge methane pollution.
Australia’s methane pollution is 60-90% higher, well over double, what we officially report to the UN.
Cutting methane from the energy sector is the most effective way to curb global warming this decade and avoid climate tipping points. And the first step is to get an accurate understanding of where emissions are occurring and who is responsible for them.
To fix Australia's methane measurement problem, Governments must require companies to directly measure and transparently report their methane pollution to the Government and to the public.
Without requiring companies to use direct methane measurement tools and techniques, Australia will continue to be a methane super-polluter.
If coal and gas companies start to accurately measure their pollution, they’ll also have to rapidly reduce them. Measuring and reducing super-polluting methane is our best strategy for keeping warming below 1.5°C.
