'Fossil fuels a requirement of human prosperity'. That's what Vivek Ramaswamy, a top-polling US Republican presidential candidate, said in the party's recent primary debate. (Fwiw, Ramaswamy is also a millennial, which means his views on climate change swim against the tide of 71% of his generation.*)
In this week's climate data briefing, we ask if this is true for Australia. Does our nation's wealth depend on emissions?
GDP v. Emissions
Since 2005, Australia’s real GDP* has grown to around $2.3 trillion.
Here's how Australia's emissions (CO2-e*) tracked over the same period.
(The charts below show emissions including and excluding Land Use, which is both a source and sink of emissions).
Emissions Intensity
Greenhouse gas emissions per Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is called 'emissions intensity'. It tells us how emissions-intensive the economy is. In the year to March 2023, Australia released 0.21 kg of CO2-e for every dollar of GDP.
How We Compare
Data from the World Bank shows Australia is still an emissions-intensive economy when compared with other countries that we often refer to.
Upshot: GDP growth has outstripped emissions, whether Land Use is included or not. The emissions intensity of the Australian economy has been in long-term decline, but it's still greater than other countries.