The Upper Hunter is set to become the site of New South Wales’ first dedicated regional greenhouse gas monitoring network, in a move the State Government says will deliver independent data on emissions across the region.
Gas analysers will be installed on existing air quality monitoring stations spanning the Upper Hunter, from Muswellbrook and Merriwa through to Singleton, Mount Thorley and Bulga. The network will provide continuous, independent monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions and help identify their sources across the region.
Muswellbrook Shire Council Mayor Jeff Drayton welcomed the announcement, saying the data would improve community understanding of local emissions.
“It’ll help understand where those emissions are coming from and help improve the transparency and understanding of the sources across our region,” he said.
Mayor Drayton noted the timing was particularly significant given the changing nature of the region’s mining industry.
“We all hear all the time one industry particularly get blamed for this, but certainly they’re an industry that have brought these emissions down,” he said.
“The results will be quite interesting.”
