Blackwater Mine

Blackwater Mine is a coal mining facility operated by WHITEHAVEN BLACKWATER PTY LTD in QLD. Like all covered facilities, underground and open-cut coal operations emit methane and energy-related CO₂. Under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism, Blackwater Mine must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2023–24, Blackwater Mine reported emissions of 190 kt against a baseline obligation of 156 kt — an overage of 34 kt. The facility covered the 34 kt overage by purchasing 34,291 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) — credits generated by carbon abatement projects elsewhere in Australia such as soil carbon farming, avoided land clearing, and landfill gas capture.

Purchasing credits is legal and intended by the Safeguard Mechanism's design — the policy deliberately allows facilities to choose between cutting on-site emissions or funding abatement elsewhere in the economy. Whether credit purchases represent genuine long-term decarbonisation depends on whether the facility's absolute emissions are trending down over time. The chart above shows the trajectory since reporting began. This question applies to all covered facilities under the Safeguard Mechanism, not Blackwater Mine specifically.

Across the coal mining sector, 8 of 8 covered facilities reported emissions above their baseline in 2023–24. The table below compares Blackwater Mine with other coal mining facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism.