What are Australia's emissions reduction targets?
Australia has several targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The first is a single-year target. That means the goal is to release a certain amount of greenhouse gases in a given year.
- The 2030 target is for national net emissions to be 43% below 2005 levels.
This equals 353.3 Mt CO2-e (Million Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent).
- The 2050 target is Net Zero, which means net 0 Mt CO2-e.
There is also a multi-year target, known as a budget. That means the goal is to use a total budget of greenhouse gas emissions across several years.
An emissions budget is the total amount of carbon dioxide equivalent released over a period of time to keep within a certain temperature threshold.
- Between 2021-2030, Australia’s emissions budget is 4,353 Mt CO2-e.
Track Australia's progress
This chart shows Australia's net emissions against the country's 2030 target.
Explore more at the Emissions Dashboard.
What does ‘Net’ mean in Net Zero?
- Net Zero means the calculation of total greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, minus the amount removed from the atmosphere (either by nature or human intervention).
- In Australia, the only sector where both emissions and removals of carbon dioxide occur is Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).
Why is 2005 the baseline year?
- A baseline year is a reference point in time against which emission reductions in the future are measured.
- The year 2005 was a high-water mark for Australia’s emissions.
Who sets the targets?
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models various scenarios for emissions reductions to achieve specific climate goals.
- This includes a global emissions budget of 1,700 Gigatonnes of CO₂-e for the period 2000–2050.
- Australia’s emissions budget is based on a ‘fair share’ of this, as recommended by Australia’s Climate Change Authority.
Why are 2030 and 2050 the target years?
- 2050 target: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—a target agreed upon in the Paris Agreement—global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions need to reach net zero by around 2050 in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
This is considered a long-term timeframe that allows for the development and scaling up of new technologies, and economic and social transition.
- 2030 target: This serves as a near-term benchmark, encouraging countries to take immediate and significant actions to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Setting a target that is relatively close in the future allows for more concrete planning and implementation of policies. It also provides a timeline short enough to hold current governments and businesses accountable for their actions and commitments.