A new International Energy Agency report finds methane emissions from Australian coalmines are more than double official government estimates.

It is proposed, with the utmost reason, that the Australian government, in its wisdom and fiscal prudence, formally adopt the International Energy Agency’s revised estimates of methane emissions from coalmines as the new baseline for national accounting. The committee has calculated the savings. By acknowledging that the actual volume of gas released is more than double the previously reported figures, the state may at last align its administrative records with physical reality, thereby eliminating the costly and inefficient practice of maintaining two separate sets of books: one for the comfort of the public, and another for the convenience of the mine owners.

It is a truth universally acknowledged by those who manage resources that accuracy is the precursor to efficiency. When a ledger is balanced against a phantom, the error compounds with every quarter. The current discrepancy between the official government estimates and the findings of the International Energy Agency represents not merely a statistical variance, but a profound administrative failure. To continue to report emissions at half their actual volume is to engage in a form of fiscal illusionism that, while charming to the layman, is disastrous for the serious student of political economy. If we are to manage the climate, we must first manage the data. And if the data is to be managed, it must be true.

Consider the burden placed upon the taxpayer by this persistent inaccuracy. Every tonne of methane unreported is a tonne of liability deferred, but not eliminated. It sits in the atmosphere, invisible to the auditor but potent in its effect, much like a debt that refuses to be acknowledged until the creditor arrives at the door. By doubling the estimate, the government does not increase the pollution; it merely ceases to pretend that the pollution is less than it is. This is a modest adjustment, requiring no new technology, no change in mining practices, and no sacrifice of comfort. It requires only that the pen be dipped in ink rather than in wishful thinking.

The coalmining industry, it must be noted, has long operated under the assumption that what is not measured cannot be taxed. This is a reasonable assumption for a private enterprise seeking to maximize profit, but it is an untenable position for a sovereign state seeking to maintain its international standing. The International Energy Agency has done the heavy lifting; they have counted the gas. To ignore their count is to suggest that the agency’s instruments are faulty, or that the atmosphere itself is subject to Australian discretion. Neither proposition holds water. The gas is there. It is warm. It is expanding. To deny its volume is to deny the sun, which is also warm and also expanding, and which we do not dispute despite its occasional inconvenience to our schedules.

There is a further benefit to this proposal. By adopting the higher estimate, the government may immediately claim credit for having identified the problem with such precision. In the current climate of global scrutiny, transparency is a currency more valuable than gold. A nation that admits its emissions are double what it thought is a nation that is honest. A nation that hides its emissions is a nation that is hiding. The former invites partnership; the latter invites suspicion. It is a simple calculation of reputation. The cost of admitting the error is negligible; the cost of being caught in the lie is catastrophic.

Some may argue that such a revision would cause panic among investors or disrupt the delicate balance of the energy market. This is a fear born of ignorance. The market is already aware of the gas; it is merely unaware of the government’s refusal to count it. Once the count is corrected, the market will adjust, as markets do. They are resilient creatures, accustomed to bad news. What they are not accustomed to is being lied to by their hosts. To correct the record is to stabilize the foundation upon which all future policy must rest.

It is also worth noting that the methane in question is not a new invention. It has been leaking from the seams of the earth for centuries, indifferent to our ledgers and our laws. The only thing that has changed is our ability to measure it. To pretend that the measurement is optional is to pretend that the earth is optional. This is a dangerous precedent. If we may ignore the volume of gas because it is inconvenient, what else may we ignore? The weight of the coal? The depth of the mine? The number of men who descend into the dark? If we are to be consistent in our administrative rationality, we must apply the same standard of truth to all things.

The proposal is therefore simple. Let the government publish the new figures. Let them be printed in bold type. Let them be read in parliament. Let them be sent to the International Energy Agency with a note of thanks for their diligence. In doing so, the state will demonstrate that it is capable of self-correction, a virtue that is rare in governments and precious in men. The savings will be immediate: the savings of credibility, the savings of diplomatic capital, and the savings of the endless, exhausting effort to maintain a fiction that the atmosphere has already disproven.

It is a modest proposal, requiring only that we look at what is there, rather than what we wish were there. The gas is double. The report is double. The truth is double. To accept this is not to surrender; it is to begin. And in a world that is heating up, beginning is the only option that remains. The committee awaits your signature. The ink is ready. The pen is in your hand. Do not let the atmosphere wait any longer.