Two-thirds of Australian coal mines increased pollution last financial year, highlighting the big coal loopholes of the federal government’s key emissions reductions policy, new data from the Clean Energy Regulator shows.
Analysis of the latest Safeguard Mechanism data shows that 61% of coal mines covered by the scheme produced more emissions in 2024–25 than the previous year, with total emissions from the sector rising slightly.
Lock the Gate’s Acting National Coordinator Georgina Woods said the data showed an urgent need to fix the Safeguard Mechanism.
"The federal government has celebrated a reduction in industrial pollution, but a closer look at the data tells a different story. Coal mine pollution is going up," she said.
"About 80% of coal mines exceeded their pollution limits and then relied on offsets to comply. That highlights a major structural flaw in a mechanism that is supposed to reduce pollution on industrial sites.
"The Albanese government must fix this flabby policy that allows fossil fuel companies to lean heavily on land sector offsets instead of investing in reducing pollution at the source. It’s a recipe for failure.
"If offsets keep being used to disguise industrial greenhouse pollution, Australians will bear the cost through climate-related disasters and spiking cost-of-living."
Analysis of the Clean Energy Regulator’s latest safeguard data report showed:
- 61% of the coal mines in Australia covered by the Safeguard Mechanism produced more pollution in 2024-25 than in 2023-24.
- Coal mines produced 31,778,619 tonnes of emissions in 2024-25, a slight increase from 31,634,038 tonnes in 2023-24.
- 80% of coal mines exceeded their baseline* in 2024-25, with almost all relying on buying offsets to comply.
- One-third of coal mines had baselines set above what they emitted in the previous year, giving them headroom to increase emissions.
*A baseline under the Safeguard Mechanism is the maximum amount of greenhouse gas emissions a facility is allowed to produce each year before it must cut pollution or offset the excess.
ENDS