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Miner’s emissions blowout to cost $10m

Miner Anglo American will have to buy and surrender $10 million in carbon credits.

Miner Anglo American will have to buy and surrender $10 million in carbon credits. Photo: Getty

Anglo American faces a $10 million penalty over an emissions blowout at one of its coal mining operations in Queensland, a conservation group says.

The Australian Conservation Foundation says the company has admitted to the blowout in documents obtained under right to information.

The miner will have to buy and surrender $10 million in carbon credits, the biggest penalty so far under a government so-called safeguard mechanism to deal with companies that exceed their emissions limits.

Company emails show Anglo American will exceed its emissions limits ​​by at least 841,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide by the end of this year at its Capcoal mine complex in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

ACF environmental investigator Annica Schoo says Anglo American has blown its emissions limits at Capcoal every year since 2016-17.

That’s despite the Clean Energy Regulator granting the company numerous concessions and deadline extensions to stick to its emissions budget, she said.

“Anglo American’s carbon credit bill would be more like $50 million if the safeguard mechanism was working as it’s meant to and the regulator was strictly policing the rules,” Ms Schoo said.

“The company has been permitted to increase its annual limit twice and can now emit 54 per cent more climate pollution than it was originally allowed.”

Ms Schoo said the regulator gave Anglo American three years to reduce its emissions, without penalty and then, after a big blowout in 2019-20, gave it an extra year to rectify its emissions problem.

Even so the documents show the company doesn’t expect to have addressed its emissions problems at Capcoal by the new deadline, she said.

“Loopholes like those Anglo has exploited must be closed and the safeguard mechanism’s pollution baselines brought down over time, as recommended by the Climate Change Authority and promised by Labor in its new climate policy,” Ms Schoo said.

Anglo American has told AAP the “temporary increase in emissions was due to gas being vented for underground mining safety requirements”.

“We have invested significantly in methane capture infrastructure at our underground metallurgical coal mines and are actively working on technology solutions to further reduce methane emissions as part of our commitment to operate carbon neutral mines by 2040,” it said in a statement.

The company says it captures about 65 per cent of the methane produced by its underground metallurgical coal mines and uses it to generate enough electricity each year to power 90,000 homes, reducing emissions by around five million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

It says it proactively purchases Australian Carbon Credit Units “where we may exceed baselines due to geological or operational issues”.

– AAP

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