REVELATIONS the Santos-owned Darwin LNG gas export hub has been secretly leaking gas for nearly two decades present compelling evidence that polluting gas companies cannot be trusted to regulate their own climate pollution, according to the Climate Council.
In a climate scandal hiding in plain sight, reports today allege Santos and former owner ConocoPhilips knew about the huge methane leak, as did state and federal regulators. All failed to act on the leak, which is estimated to emit 184kg of polluting methane every hour.
Climate Councillor Professor Lesley Hughes said: "Methane is the second biggest driver of global warming after carbon dioxide. It's a climate super-pollutant that's turbocharging extreme weather, and gas companies are letting it leak into the atmosphere without being held accountable.
"ConocoPhillips turned a blind eye to this leak for almost a year before reporting it, and five years later it still hasn't been fixed. This is exactly why we must have effective independent monitoring and verification of methane pollution from all fossil fuel operations.
"Australia is already the world's 12th largest methane polluter, and our coal and gas companies may be under-reporting their methane pollution by up to 60 percent. That means the scale of this problem is likely far worse than official figures show.
"The Australian Government has signed up to the Global Methane Pledge to slash global methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. But a promise is not a plan. We need to adopt a measurable and accountable mechanism to drive genuine methane emissions reductions to 2035, and fulfill our commitments under the Global Methane Pledge."
For more on Australia's methane problem and what needs to change, see the Climate Council's report: Dangerously Overlooked: Why we need to talk about methane.
