Australia's emissions
Australia publishes comprehensive reports on our greenhouse gas emissions in the National Greenhouse Accounts. This data assists the Government in developing climate change policy and setting emissions targets. It is also used to meet Australia’s reporting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and track progress against Australia’s target under the Kyoto Protocol.
What is it?
The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency publishes Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts, which outline Australia's greenhouse gas emissions as a nation; by state; and, by industry. The National Greenhouse Accounts comprise the
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory
State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2008
National Inventory by Economic Sector 2008
National Inventory Report 2008, Australia’s official submission to the UNFCCC
Australian Government’s Initial Report under the Kyoto Protocol
National Greenhouse Accounts Factors
Search Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts Online |
What is the latest data?
The national inventory (excluding LULUCF) is estimated to have increased by 0.6% in trend terms and 1.3% in seasonally adjusted terms in the December 2009 quarter. The increase is mainly due to a rebound from the low September levels in key sectors such as electricity generation and to a lesser extent other stationary energy and industrial processes.
The quarterly change in the national emissions growth rate from December 2003 to December 2009, in both trend and seasonally adjusted terms is shown below.
Figure 1: National Inventory, Annex A sectors, seasonally adjusted emissions growth rates, quarterly change - December quarter 2003 to December quarter 2009
In the twelve months to December 2009, Australia’s emissions were an estimated 537 Mt CO2-e (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), a decrease of 2.4 per cent compared with the preceding twelve months. Negative emmissions growth experienced in previous quarters was mostly attributed to relatively low emissions in key sectors such as electricity generation, steel production and agriculture, mainly reflecting the international economic slowdown and weather conditions.
National Inventory: for the four quarters to December quarter 2009
| Category | Annual emission through to the December quarter
Mt CO2-e | Per cent change in annual emissions |
|---|
| December quarter 2008 | December quarter 2009 |
|---|
| National inventory - Annex A sectors |
| Energy - Electricity |
207 |
202 |
-2.0% |
| Energy - Stationary energy excluding electricity |
93 |
89 |
-4.2% |
| Energy - Transport |
80 |
79 |
-0.7% |
| Energy - Fugitive emissions |
39 |
41 |
3.1% |
| Industrial processes |
31 |
27 |
-10.6% |
| Waste |
15 |
15 |
1.5% |
| Agriculture |
86 |
84 |
-2.8% |
| National Inventory total (a) |
550 |
537 |
-2.4% |
(a) The National Inventory total does not include estimates of net credits from the article 3.3 Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry activities, which are estimated on an annual basis only.
What is the rest of the world doing ?
Other developed countries are also required to produce annual greenhouse gas inventories. These are available on the UNFCCC website