(Photo credit: The University of Queensland)
New research from the University of Queensland (UQ) has found an abandoned coal borehole in the Surat Basin leaking methane equivalent to 10,000 cars every year. Methane is 86 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years, so even a single leak supercharges global warming. This is a greenhouse gas monster that needs to be stopped before it’s too late!
Queensland could have roughly 130,000 legacy coal boreholes, but the actual number of leaks is unknown. If just 5% of these boreholes are leaking at similar rates, that would be the equivalent of 65 million cars on our roads.
UQ researchers Professor Phil Hayes and Dr Sebastian Hoerning are monitoring emissions at abandoned boreholes to better understand the problem. According to Professor Hayes, emissions from the borehole they studied were slightly lower than feared, but still significant enough to demand attention.
“This research is the tip of the methane iceberg for Queensland,” says Queensland Conservation Council campaigner Ms Charlie Cox. “It’s another example of how reckless and dangerous the fossil fuel industry can be, and how the Crisafulli Government has fallen asleep at the wheel when it comes to accountability.”
With calls for a statewide audit of abandoned coal boreholes, stronger monitoring and reporting, and remediation funded by coal royalties, tackling methane now is the fastest, most effective way to reduce climate change impacts.
🔗 Read more – Queensland Conservation Council page
🔗 Read more – UQ News/Research announcement
Written by: Emelyn Feigel
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