Fugitive emissions sector greenhouse gas emissions

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Key finding

Total fugitive emissions increased 38% between 2005 and 2014 in line with increasing coal and gas production.

Queensland’s fugitive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—the emissions lost to the atmosphere during coal and gas mining activities— have grown very strongly from 3.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 1990 to reach 13.6 million tonnes in 2014.

This strong growth in fugitive emissions is a result of expansion in Queensland’s coal and gas extractive industry.

Fugitive emissions are mostly methane, a GHG with a global warming potential 25 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 100 year period. Methane is found in coal and oil deposits and is released during the mining or extraction process. It is also a main component of natural gas and is often released during extraction and processing.

Main sources of fugitive emissions in 2014 were:

  • underground coal mining
  • surface coal mining
  • natural gas extraction.

Emissions from solid fuels other than coal and oil have been excluded from the graph as their contribution is very small.

More information:

Indicator: Greenhouse gas emissions, in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 – e), of fugitive emissions sector

Queensland annual greenhouse gas emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent from 1990-2014 by fugitive emissions sector. Total fugitive emissions sector greenhouse gas emissions in millions of tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent comparing states for 2014.

Download data from Queensland Government data