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Screening for methane leaks at fossil fuel sites across Australia could reveal mining companies that are underestimating their emissions, according to environmentalists.
Key points:
- An environmental organisation is using optical gas imaging (OPI) technology in Australia to clarify methane emission results
- The organisation says its OPI camera detected methane at Appin power station adjacent to the mine, but its official test results will be analysed and released in Europe
- The NSW EPA has taken over the reporting of methane emissions from fossil fuel companies just this year
Using an optical gas imaging (OGI) camera to gather on-ground footage of methane leaks, thermographer Théophile Humann-Guilleminot has kickstarted a month-long investigation outside the front gates of the Appin mine west of Wollongong.
Mr Humann-Guilleminot works for the methane pollution prevention section of the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), a European-based environmental organisation committed to reducing carbon emissions.
"In the fossil-fuel industry, emissions are happening at every level given it is a by-product of coal," Mr Humann-Guilleminot said.
"The videos we are producing showing different features of emissions could be used to dispute companies proven to be doing the wrong thing."
Mr Humann-Guilleminot said his OGI camera did detect methane at the power station adjacent to the mine, but the official test results would be processed and released after his return to Europe.
Screening from outside, Mr Humann-Guilleminot collected his data without consulting facility management.
"What matters is not the site level, it's the industry level," he said.
"Australia can be used as an example of an extractive economy to show what is also happening to other parts of the world.
"We cannot wait to have a comprehensive overview of every country before we reduce emissions."
The ABC is not suggesting the Appin mine is exceeding its emission limits.
How OGI technology works
The OGI camera is a handheld instrument that filters energy absorbed by the methane gas and projects it onto a screen, making it visible to the naked eye.
"In clear conditions, the detection rate of the OGI camera is quite low, meaning it can pick up the smallest of leaks," Mr Humann-Guilleminot said.
"The way we know that it is methane and not other greenhouse gases is because the facility is capable of sending only methane through those pipes."
Mr Humann-Guilleminot has been involved in screening over 400 oil and gas sites across 15 European countries, which found up to 90 per cent of locations either intentionally released methane into the atmosphere or disguised their reporting.
He said since pre-industrial times, methane has been responsible for a 0.5 degree increase in the Earth's temperature, but unlike some greenhouse gases, methane can be recovered from the source and channelled into a gas system, pipeline or facility for re-use.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and the Sunrise Project have partnered with the CATF during Mr Humann-Guilleminot's Australian expedition and is eager to learn of the findings.
Within the first week of screenings, ACF investigator Kim Garrett was able to watch methane escape into the atmosphere through the lens of the OGI camera.
"We've noticed that at several different facilities, and several different stages in the mining process, a deliberate venting of methane," Ms Garrett said.
"We have [also] seen what we suspect, but will need to verify, as non-deliberate venting of methane."
'Government hasn't done enough'
Federal Warringah MP Zali Steggall joined the ACF and CATF team during the screening outside the Appin mine last week.
Ms Steggall said while she welcomed the federal government's commitment to lower methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, Australia's reporting system may skew subsequent action.
"If all our estimates are completely off the mark and don't account for unintentional venting, then any steps facilities take will be nothing," she said.
"A commitment like this will be worthless so it's incredibly important we have the right kind of benchmark and data."
Ms Steggall said she was not surprised methane leaks were being detected.
"They are operating in a system they have been allowed to operate in by the government," she said.
"But now that we know the impact that has on global warming and how much is occurring, the responsibility is on everyone to fix it."
Monitoring and measuring methane
Prior to the rollout of NSW's Climate Change Action Plan 2023-26, the state's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) left the monitoring and measuring of methane to mining companies.
"Mines are currently required to measure and report to the Commonwealth government as part of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting legislation and the Safeguard Mechanism," an EPA spokesperson said.
"This [year] is the first time a state's environmental regulator has released a comprehensive regulatory approach to address climate change."
Global mining and metals company South32, which owns the Appin mine, said it was conducting a commercial-scale trial of a new ventilation air methane abatement technology, which destroys methane by oxidising it and turning it into carbon dioxide.
It said pipes in the location visited by the CATF had not been operational since 2018.
South32 said it inspected the pipes and no methane was detected.
"Fugitive emissions" from NSW coal mines have dropped by almost 40 per cent since 2005, according to the NSW Minerals Council.
"This is largely due to mining shifting to less-gassy coal seams, as well as a range of emission-reduction projects implemented by the mining industry," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"Further projects are being considered across the sector and the industry continues to invest heavily in research to identify new technologies that can deliver further reductions in emissions."
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