Whitehaven’s expansion risks doubling its methane pollution, undermining Australia’s climate goal

Ember also finds that across Whitehaven’s coal mines, there are clear transparency gaps concerning their existing methane estimates, resulting in potential underestimates of the true scale of Whitehaven’s methane pollution. This is relative to difficulties to track and verify methane in Australia’s coal sector, which should have been a major opportunity for climate action that can also strengthen energy security. 

Other key findings include:

• Methane intensity of Whitehaven’s only underground mine Narrabri is 5 times higher than originally reported in the company’s environmental impact statements, according to Ember’s independent calculation.
• In contrast to Whitehaven’s reported emissions, external estimates by the likes of the Global Energy Monitor indicate that Whitehaven’s methane emissions could be almost five times as large, with their existing and proposed mines emitting up to 6 million tonnes of methane by 2050.