Glencore Coal Mine in Spotlight as a Methane Hotspot Emerges
Dutch scientists estimate the Hail Creek coal mine emitted hundreds of thousands tons of methane over two years
The Hail Creek coal mine.
Satellite data showing methane emissions near a Glencore Plc coal mine in Australia is putting pressure on one of the world’s largest commodity trading houses to explain the global hotspot.
Scientists at SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research estimated the Hail Creek mine spewed between 123,000 and 263,000 metric tons of methane last year based on concentrations of the super-potent greenhouse gas detected by satellite. That’s in line with the previous year, for which the researchers estimated the mine emitted 133,000 to 223,000 tons of methane.
The Swiss-based commodities giant, which has continued to mine the dirtiest fossil fuel even as rivals have looked to sell out, posted its highest-ever profit Tuesday. The amount of methane the researchers estimated spewed from Hail Creek would have the same short-term warming impact as the annual emissions from anywhere between about 2.2 million and 4.8 million U.S. cars each year.