On 14 October 2026, former Australian Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM, and other members of the Fugitive Methane Expert Panel hosted a webinar.
Dr Foley told participants: ‘The Panel has made substantial progress in building the evidence base we need to support robust, balanced and scientifically credible advice.’
The Expert Panel published its interim report in September 2026.
Watch the webinar on the interim report.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Fugitive methane emissions can occur during coal, oil and gas operations. There are different ways to estimate these emissions. ‘Top-down’ approaches estimate these emissions by measuring and modelling changes in atmospheric methane.
The Minister for Climate Change and Energy appointed the panel in 2025 to provide advice on:
- current scientific understanding of top-down approaches for the coal, oil and gas sector
- the role the approaches could play in the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme and Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts.
This advice will help the Accounts and NGER scheme stay world class. It will also help provide a robust evidence base for Australia’s climate action.
The Panel’s interim report:
- explains how the Panel is approaching its work
- explains the concepts, challenges and complexities of its work
- shares the Panel’s initial insights from its work to date.
