澳大利亚高等法院近期就煤矿排放做出裁决，认定新南威尔士州规划部门在审批芒特普莱森特矿时，仅考虑了该矿2%的国内排放，而未充分考量其98%的海外排放1。然而，专家指出国内甲烷排放问题同样关键且被严重低估。煤矿甲烷排放约占澳大利亚总排放量的5%1，而甲烷在20年内的吸热能力是二氧化碳的80倍，约占全球变暖的三分之一1。
澳大利亚的排放测量和目标设置机制存在重大漏洞。科学家2023年对17个昆士兰州煤矿的航测数据显示，露天矿实际甲烷排放约为官方报告的3.6倍1；卫星数据也发现新南威尔士州两座猎人谷矿山生产的煤炭甲烷排放量是官方数据的两倍1。按官方数据，昆士兰露天矿每吨煤排放约47公斤二氧化碳当量，而地下矿为267公斤1，但联邦保障机制对所有煤矿设定相同目标——65公斤/吨1。这意味着排放量更高的地下矿实际上面临更宽松的标准。在2024-25年度，露天矿获得约700000个碳信用额度，价值约2600万澳元1，而联邦政府建议对露天矿减少排放限额约130万吨/年1。
Australia's High Court recently examined coal mining emissions exported overseas, yet a critical gap persists in how the nation measures and regulates methane released during domestic coal extraction.1 While the court determined that New South Wales planners considered only 2% of the Mount Pleasant mine's domestic emissions when approving the project, allowing 98% of emissions—those released abroad during coal combustion—to escape scrutiny, equally troubling is the systematic underestimation of methane leaking from mines at home.1
Coal mining methane accounts for approximately 5% of Australia's total emissions,1 and the gas poses a far more immediate climate threat than carbon dioxide, absorbing heat at a rate 80 times greater over a 20-year period and driving roughly one-third of current global warming.1 Yet the federal Safeguard Mechanism, designed to limit industrial emissions, contains structural flaws that mask the true scale of the problem. Scientists conducting aerial surveys of 17 Queensland coal mines in 2023 discovered that open-cut mines emit approximately 3.6 times more methane than official reports indicate,1 while satellite data revealed that two Hunter Valley mines in New South Wales produce coal with methane emissions double the reported figures.1 Despite these disparities, the Safeguard Mechanism applies an identical emissions target of 65 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne across all coal mines,1 despite underground operations releasing six times more emissions than open-cut pits according to official data—267 kilograms versus 47 kilograms per tonne respectively.1 In 2024-25 alone, open-cut mines received approximately 700,000 carbon credits worth around AUD 26 million,1 while the federal government has proposed reducing annual emission limits for open-cut operations by roughly 1.3 million tonnes.1
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