Fugitive emissions sector greenhouse gas emissions

Key Finding

Fugitive emissions are the emissions that are lost to the atmosphere during coal and gas mining activities.

Emissions were 19.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂e) in 2018. This represents 11% of Queensland’s total emissions and the long-term trend is increasing emissions.

• This compares with 3.2 MtCO₂e in 1990.
• In 2005, emissions were 9.9 MtCO₂e.

This strong growth in fugitive emissions is a result of expansion in Queensland’s coal and gas extractive industry. Fugitive emissions also spiked in 2015 as large natural gas processing plants came online.

The main sources of fugitive emissions in 2018 were:

• underground coal mining (46%)
• surface coal mining (26%)
• natural gas extraction (25%).

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.
• Methane also is the primary component of raw natural gas and is often released during extraction and processing.

The graph shows the consistent increase in fugitives from the coal mining industry between 1990 and 2018 and the sudden growth in fugitives arising from the natural gas industry between 2014 and 2018.

Queensland has the largest share of fugitive emissions in Australia.

More information:

• State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventory – 2018

Relevant Sustainable Development Goals’ targets

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