Net Zero Commission Recommendations Risk Duplication Complicating Emissions Reduction

Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA) has warned that the NSW Net Zero Commission’s Coal Mining Emissions Spotlight Report risks duplicating national policy, undermining investment certainty in coal regions and distracting from practical methane abatement already under way.

LETA Chief Executive Mark McCallum said the report downplays the role of the Commonwealth Safeguard Mechanism and the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGERs) framework, while calling for extra state-based controls on coal mining.

“Coal mines in NSW are already covered by some of the most rigorous emissions reporting and compliance rules in the world,” Mr McCallum said.

“The Safeguard Mechanism and NGERs are the frameworks that drive measurement, reporting and abatement. Suggesting NSW needs a separate layer of bespoke rules risks confusion and higher costs without delivering faster or deeper emissions reductions.”

Through LETA, the Australian coal mining industry is investing heavily in new technologies that could significantly reduce the greenhouse emissions of mining operations in NSW and many other mines around the world. .

“To significantly reduce the global warming impacts of methane the industry is currently testing and deploying at suitable mines new regenerative thermal oxidisers and emerging catalytic systems.. The priority for Government should be scaling proven technologies through a stable, nationally consistent policy environment, not redesigning the rules mine by mine at state level.”

The report also notes the central role of coal in regional economies and the NSW budget, including royalties and export income.

“Communities in the Hunter, Illawarra, Central West and North West need certainty,” Mr McCallum said.

“Viable mines that can operate within national emissions targets should not be placed at additional risk by overlapping state rules. A credible transition starts with maintaining the economic base in these regions while cutting emissions at source and building new industries over time.”

LETA will continue to engage with the NSW Government, the Net Zero Commission and the Commonwealth to advocate for policy settings that are nationally aligned and focus on supporting practical on-site methane abatement at suitable mines.

ENDS