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To manage and mitigate Australia’s emissions effectively, accurate monitoring is essential. The authority tasked with collating and reporting Australia’s national methane emissions is the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), which reports figures quarterly in its National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Current methods for calculating these figures rely heavily on self-reporting from industry, often using outdated methods. This approach has raised concerns regarding the accuracy and transparency of the reported data.

The primary issue with self-reporting is its inherent lack of independent verification. Without third-party measurement, there’s a significant risk that reported emissions may not fully represent actual methane emissions. Discrepancies can arise from unintentional underestimations, or from coarse estimation methods which do not take into account variability or local factors. Verification makes it clear when estimation techniques fall short so they can be adapted to adequately reflect local circumstances.

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