Australia's coal seam gas emissions could be vastly underestimated

According to a report by the Melbourne Energy Institute, CO₂ emissions from the coal-seam gas sector could be largely underestimated as methane emissions claimed by the Australian industry are 170 times lower than US methane emission measurements at coal-seam gas fields; as well, US measurements are 34 times higher than what the Australian government reported to the United Nations.



Gas is usually considered as a lower-emission fossil fuel compared with coal (60% less CO₂ emissions when burnt). The study is based on fugitive emissions of unburned gas (mostly methane) that is released during extraction or transportation; as methane is 84 time more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period, the study considers that gas loses its low-emission advantage when fugitive emissions reach 3.2% of total gas production. Methane leakage reported by the Australian coal-seam gas sector and by the national inventory are significantly lower than US measurements (respectively 0.1% and 0.5%, compared to 2-30% in the United States). Based on a 10% leakage rate, real emissions from the coal-seam gas sector in Australia could be twice the emissions that Australian has pledged to cut by 2030, or the equivalent of the whole transport sector in the country.



This figure is expected to grow significantly, as Australia is expected to overtake Qatar as the largest LNG exporter within 5 years, with most of the gas produced from coal-seam gas in the eastern states.