Kestrel Coal Pty Ltd

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

In 2023–24, Kestrel Coal Pty Ltd reported emissions of 1.22 Mt against a baseline obligation of 1.04 Mt — an overage of 188 kt. The facility covered the 188 kt overage by purchasing 188,479 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 Kestrel Coal Pty Ltd specifically.

Among 8 comparable facilities, 8 reported emissions above their baseline in 2023–24. The table below compares Kestrel Coal Pty Ltd with other facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism in the same classification.