Greenbushes Lithium Operation

Greenbushes Lithium Operation is a metal ore mining facility operated by Talison Lithium Australia Pty Ltd in WA. Like all covered facilities, iron ore, gold and base metal mining uses significant diesel and electricity. Under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism, Greenbushes Lithium Operation must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2023–24, Greenbushes Lithium Operation reported emissions of 104 kt against a baseline obligation of 100 kt — an overage of 4 kt. The facility covered the 4 kt overage by purchasing 4,303 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 Greenbushes Lithium Operation specifically.

Across the metal ore mining sector, 8 of 8 covered facilities reported emissions above their baseline in 2023–24. The table below compares Greenbushes Lithium Operation with other metal ore mining facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism.