Yesterday, the federal government released Australia's quarterly Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Here is your summary.
The Big Picture
Australia’s net emissions increased slightly.
Between June 2022 and 2023, we released 465.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e). This is 0.8% higher than the previous year.
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What went up
Transport: Up 7.8%
Transport emissions jumped, mainly because of air travel rebounding post-Covid.
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Agriculture: Up 3.8%
Agriculture emissions rose, as animal and crop numbers recover from the extreme drought in 2017 to 2019.
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Waste: Up 0.1%
Waste emissions rose slightly. This is mainly methane from decaying organic matter at landfills.
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Stationary energy: Up 0.1%
Stationary energy excludes electricity and refers to burning fuels like gas and coal in settings other than transport, such as power plants or buildings.
They've swelled since 2005 because of the boom in LNG production, but grew only slightly in the last year.
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What went down
Electricity: Down 3.5%
Electricity emissions are falling, thanks to renewables replacing fossil fuels.
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Fugitives: Down 1.7%
Fugitive emissions (which come from gas, oil and coal production) fell because Australia produced less coal.
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Industrial processes: Down 0.6%
Industrial process emissions come from chemical, metal and mineral production, as well as fridges and air-conditioners. These fell slightly because of less steel production.
How will we reach the target? The federal government has released its emissions projections reporting. We'll take a look at it in a future briefing.
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How we’re tracking
Australia’s 2030 target is 43% below 2005 emissions (the baseline year). We are currently 24.5% below 2005 levels.
- The bright spot is electricity. The sector's emissions are 23% lower than 2005 because of less coal and more renewables
- Transport is up 19.5% because of more flights, cars and freight
- Stationary energy is up 26% because of booming LNG production
- Fugitive emissions are up 10.8% because of LNG production
- How will we reach the target? The federal government has released its emissions projections reporting. We'll take a look at it in a future briefing.
What we're reading
Leading indicators
Yesterday, the climate minister, Chris Bowen, presented the Albanese government's second Annual Climate Change Statement to Parliament. This is a new requirement under the Climate Change Act 2022.
One notable call-out: the statement refers to leading indicators of decarbonisation for each sector. They include:
- EV imports
- Clearing of primary and secondary forest
- Nitrogen fertiliser use
- Methane capture rates
- Imports of heat pumps
- Emissions from venting and flaring in oil, gas, and coal production
Leading, rather than lagging, indicators are welcome indeed.