Minority government, methane and that pledge

April 28, 2025

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, through their Doomsday Clock, identifies nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies as the three most significant threats to humanity.

So, given the absence of climate change from the election, Michael Keating’s conclusion that “it should be possible for a minority Labor Government to reach agreement on improved policies affecting government integrity and procedures, the environment and climate change” is encouraging.

But Keating is mistaken to write, “fossil fuels only create emissions when burned, not when they are dug up.” Both the gas and coal industries leak methane (fugitive emissions) and in Australia the extent of these emissions is significantly under-reported. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and as the World Bank writes, “Cutting methane from oil and gas production is low-hanging fruit in tackling climate change, and critical to aligning the global energy sector with a global 1.5˚C warming trajectory, as agreed in the Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26.” Australia signed the pledge in 2022, but is yet to implement a comprehensive national plan.

The Greens and Teals will “motivate” a minority Labor government to get cracking.

References https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/ https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/australia-coal-mine-methane-problem/ https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/19-00168_GISERA_FACTSHEET_MethaneFutureEmissions_190722v3.pdf https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/gasflaringreduction/methane-explained https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/media-releases/australia-joins-global-methane-pledge