Under the Federal Government’s safeguard system a company that exceeds limits set by the Government, was required to purchase and surrender carbon credits to bring its net emissions back to a certain level.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said Anglo American would be at least 841,137 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) over its limit at Capcoal by the end of this year, as revealed in company emails obtained by ACF under the Freedom of Information Act.

“Anglo American has blown its emissions limits at Capcoal every year since 2016-17, despite the Clean Energy Regulator giving the company numerous concessions and deadline extensions,” said ACF’s lead environmental investigator Annica Schoo.

“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.’’

A spokesman for Anglo metallurgical coal operations said the blowout was a temporary increase in emissions 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.”

 The global mining giant said it now captures about 65 per cent of the methane produced by our underground metallurgical coal mines and diverted the gas to generate more than 140MW of electricity every year, powering 90,000 homes and reducing emissions by around 5 million tonnes of CO2e each year.

ACF said Anglo had been permitted to increase its annual limit twice and can now emit 54 per cent more emissions than it was originally.

The Clean Energy Regulator gave Anglo American three years to reduce its emissions, without penalty, then after a massive blowout in 2019-20 the regulator granted the company an extra year to rectify its emissions problem, this time citing COVID-19 provisions.

These emissions arise from mining coal, not from burning it. Documents show Anglo American does not expect to have reined in emissions at Capcoal by the new deadline.

“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,” Schoo said.