BHP wants different kinds of coal taxed separately. 

Australia’s largest mining company, BHP, is urging the government to recognise coking coal miners as a separate industry from thermal coal miners, citing significant differences in emissions and mining techniques. 

The government is planning to introduce “industry averages” to become the dominant factor in setting emissions limits by 2030. 

However, BHP and other large mining companies fear that a one-size-fits-all approach will result in perverse outcomes, given the differences between underground and surface-level open-pit mines. 

Underground mines tend to contain more methane gas and, therefore, release higher volumes of “fugitive” greenhouse gas. 

They are also commonly producers of coking coal for steelmaking, which is less substitutable than thermal coal for power generation. 

Centennial Coal, Whitehaven Coal and Malabar Resources have also joined the push to distinguish between underground and surface mines instead of trying to distinguish between coking coal and thermal coal. 

The government is being urged to create a system that motivates all participants to reduce emissions, not just those with the biggest carbon footprint.