Goonyella Broadmeadow Mine

Goonyella Broadmeadow Mine is a facility operated by BM Alliance Coal Operations Pty Limited in QLD. Like all covered facilities, industrial operations generate significant emissions. Under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism, Goonyella Broadmeadow Mine must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2024–25, Goonyella Broadmeadow Mine reported emissions of 1.36 Mt against a baseline obligation of 890 kt — an overage of 469 kt. The facility covered the 469 kt overage by purchasing 468,747 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 Goonyella Broadmeadow Mine specifically.

Among 8 comparable facilities, 8 reported emissions above their baseline in 2024–25. The table below compares Goonyella Broadmeadow Mine with other facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism in the same classification.