<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>330527</docID> <postdate>2024-10-09 11:07:13</postdate> <headline>Methane emissions may be much worse than thought</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-330528" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20170731001313208672-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Methane emissions are blamed for 'turbocharging' heatwaves, bushfires and extreme weather events. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Kat Wong</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Emissions from gas and coal projects could be much worse than thought as their methane pollution may have been vastly underestimated.</strong></p> <p>New data suggests Australia's National Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, based on self-reported information from emitters or sparse local measurements, may not paint the most accurate picture of the nation's pollution.</p> <p>Preliminary data from new monitoring platform Open Methane - which uses satellite-based measurements and ground-based verification to track emissions - estimates methane levels could be twice as high as what is currently reported.</p> <p>Chair of climate think tank The Superpower Institute and former consumer watchdog head Rod Sims will on Wednesday officially launch the new Open Methane platform.</p> <p>"Accurate data is the foundation of effective climate policy: if we can't measure it, we can't manage it," he said.</p> <p>Australia's 20 highest emitting locations were all linked to coal or gas extraction, suggesting these sectors could be producing as much methane as the agriculture industry, if not more.</p> <p>Methane is believed to account for 30 per cent of the world's temperature rise since the industrial revolution.</p> <p>It is "turbocharging" heatwaves, bushfires and other extreme weather events in Australia, Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Piper Rollins said.</p> <p>"Climate-heating methane emissions from Australia's coal and gas sector are being massively underestimated," she said.</p> <p>"While many farmers are taking steps to reduce emissions from their herds, coal and gas projects are derailing Australia's progress on cutting climate pollution.</p> <p>"This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg."</p> <p>Reducing methane is one of the most immediate and impactful ways to slow global warming because of the gas's relatively short atmospheric lifetime and potency, Prof Sims said.</p> </body>