When it comes to keeping track of our greenhouse gas emissions the devil is often in the detail. Australia has been accused of drastically under-reporting its methane emissions. Open-cut and de-commissioned mines can track emission by using estimates, while thermal imaging shows some sites that should have been rehabilitated are seeing harmful gases leak out.
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00:00Hidden away in the heart of the Durrawal National Park, south of Sydney, sits part of an old
00:10coal mine.
00:11It was last used in the 1990s.
00:14Thermal imaging taken in April and given exclusively to the ABC detected methane still coming from
00:21the vent shafts.
00:22It's a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide when released.
00:27When coal seams are disturbed, trapped gases can enter the atmosphere for years.
00:33We're worried that miners just tend to move off from their responsibilities once they're
00:37finished making money from a site.
00:40Concerned Illawarra locals say it's polluting what's supposed to be a protected area.
00:46In the conditions that came with the approval, they were meant to return the site to as natural
00:53a state as possible.
00:55The mine's owner, a South 32, acknowledged there are residual methane emissions and says
01:00a rehabilitation plan was submitted to the state government late last year.
01:05The government says it's a requirement for rehabilitation to be undertaken as soon as
01:10reasonably practicable.
01:12We're in a situation in Australia where we have coal mines that could be emitting gas
01:15for up to 40 years after they've stopped mining coal.
01:19The International Energy Agency estimates Australia could be under-reporting its emissions
01:24from fossil fuels by at least 60%, meaning the energy sector could be a far bigger contributor
01:31than what's reported.
01:32Australia has a gaping hole in the way that we report climate pollution from fossil fuel
01:36projects which means we don't even know how much climate pollution coal and gas projects
01:40are contributing.
01:42Improvements in technology are now making it more difficult to hide.
01:49That technology has fuelled warnings that under-reporting is so significant it could
01:54put Australia's Paris climate targets in jeopardy.
01:58Late last year, the federal government signed the Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions
02:02by 30% by 2030.
02:05I think the issue is really reducing the amount of methane that we're creating from mining
02:09if we continue to allow mining to expand and I think there's 18 expansions in New South
02:15Wales alone and a number also in Queensland.
02:19We do need to ensure that methane regulation is improved.
02:22I am pressuring the government to ensure we do our bit, otherwise Australia is misleading
02:29the international community on its emissions.
02:33The federal government says it's committed to improving Australia's emissions reporting
02:38but campaigners say that's not enough.
02:41There's no excuse.
02:42You should clean up your mess once you've made it.
02:45A mess that's proving tricky to manage.
02:49For more UN videos visit www.un.org