"History" Of Misleading, Incomplete Reporting On Coal Emissions From Peabody Energy In Australia
US coalmining giant Peabody Energy has repeatedly submitted incorrect greenhouse gas emissions reports to the Australian government, prompting questions about the reliability of national climate data based on company assessments. The Clean Energy Regulator found Peabody had a history of filing inaccurate reports required under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act due to calculation errors, poor record-keeping and inconsistent data collection and analysis.
The mistakes were in both directions, leading to significant under- and over-reporting of emissions from the underground Wambo coalmine in New South Wales. The total error was large – when added up, out by more than 51% of the total emissions from the site – but the under- and over-reporting largely cancelled each other out. It meant the submitted total was 5.4% lower than what it should have been. Peabody is the fifth-biggest coalminer in Australia, owning two thermal coalmines (used for electricity generation) and five metallurgical coalmines (for steelmaking). The company has agreed to hire an external consultant to compile its emissions reports using industry best-practice reporting methodologies, and to commission an independent auditor to examine its mines and other facilities.
Annica Schoo, the lead environmental investigator at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said there were “more and more examples” of companies submitting emissions data that did not stand up to scrutiny. It follows Dutch scientists examining satellite imagery and finding the amount of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, leaking from some Queensland coalmines was greater than has been reported.
Schoo said the company reports lodged with the regulator were used to help fulfil Australia’s international obligations under several treaties, including the Paris climate agreement, and as part of the government’s annual projections of future emissions. “The accuracy of this data is critical to getting on top of the climate crisis. The lack of care Peabody has shown is completely unacceptable,” she said.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/31/australian-regulator-finds-large-scale-emissions-misreporting-by-coalminer-peabody