Emissions

• Target: The 2030 target for national net emissions is –43% below 2005 levels. This means Australia is aiming to release net 349.6 Mt CO₂-e in 2030.
• Progress: In the year to June 2024, Australia released net 440.8 Mt CO₂-e.This was –28% lower than 2005.
• Needed: Australia is reducing its national net emissions by –1.3 Mt CO₂-e each year. To hit the 2030 target, it needs to reduce net emissions by –15.2 Mt CO₂-e per year.

When you hear the term 'Net Zero', have you ever thought about what 'Net' means?

It means total emissions put into the atmosphere minus emissions removed from the atmosphere.

So, gross emissions, are the total emissions put into the atmosphere before any removals.

In Australia, only one sector is responsible for both releasing and removing greenhouse gases: Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).

We have removed LULUCF from the total net emissions, as a proxy for Australia's gross emissions.

When countries report their emissions, they're divided into sectors. Here are some key terms:

• Fugitive emissions are released during gas, oil and coal production.
• Industrial processes mean chemical, metal and mineral production, as well as fridges and air-conditioners.
• Stationary energy means burning fuel for energy (e.g. gas, coal) in settings other than transport, such as power plants or buildings.

For more, click the Read more button.

How does Australia rank compared to other countries?

• Raw emissions: 15th highest
• Emissions per person: 8th highest

Click the arrows in the table to sort.

Note: This data source is the Potsdam Institute in Germany. It excludes emissions from the Land Use sector. To learn more, click Read more below.

Australia’s reported greenhouse gas emissions are often revised in later reports. This page tracks every version of reported emissions in the quarterly inventory updates.

How to read these charts: The lines show Australia's reported emissions in million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e). Each line represents the date they were reported. Click on the categories in the legend to deselect.

Acknowledgment: This topic was inspired by Ketan Joshi, an author and communications consultant who focuses on climate. The chart concepts below also come from him.

Transport is Australia's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, after electricity.

'Road' is the biggest category in transport emissions, by far. When we drill down into 'road' emissions, cars dominate. Just 2% of Australia's 21 million registered vehicles are electric.

That figure is growing. But something else has changed. There are more diesel vehicles on the roads too.