Isaac Plains Complex

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

In 2023–24, Isaac Plains Complex reported emissions of 203 kt against a baseline obligation of 167 kt — an overage of 35 kt. The facility covered the 35 kt overage by purchasing 35,432 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 Isaac Plains Complex specifically.

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