Australia’s carbon emissions rise amid Covid-19 recovery

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2021 as the removal of Covid-19 restrictions triggered a rebound in pollution levels, which offset falls from electricity generation.

National emissions in 2021 rose by 0.8 per cent or 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, although pollution from the electricity sector fell as more renewables entered the system.

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2021 as the removal of Covid-19 restrictions triggered a rebound in pollution levels from the transport, manufacturing and gas sectors which offset falls from electricity generation.

National emissions in 2021 rose by 0.8 per cent or 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, to 488 million tonnes, while an increase of 2 per cent has been forecast for the year to March 2022, the federal government said.

The Albanese administration blamed the rise on the Coalition’s failure to deliver a coherent climate policy, but the figures also illustrate the scale of the challenge for Labor to deliver on its pledge for a 43 per cent cut on 2005 emission levels by 2030.

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are currently 21.4 per cent below 2005 levels, the benchmark year used for the Paris climate change agreement, while both Labor and the Coalition have a target of net zero emissions by 2050.

“We know that in the absence of climate policy – the Liberals and Nationals relied on Covid and drought to bank emissions reductions,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.

“With the resumption of more normal economic activity, continuing recovery from drought and increases in manufacturing and resources sector activity, the previous government caps off its record of denial and delay by increasing emissions on the way out.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Picture: AAP

Transport emissions lifted by 4 per cent during the 12-month period with manufacturing up 3.3 per cent and the farming sector rising by 4.2 per cent. Increased flaring from oil and gas producers triggered a 1.8 per cent growth in fugitive emissions.

The electricity industry, which accounts for a third of Australia’s pollution, fell by 4.2 per cent as renewable energy continued to chip away at the influence of coal in the power grid.

The federal government said Australia will meet the 43 per cent target through its Powering Australia plan, which aims to cut electricity bills by $275 a year by 2025, create 604,000 jobs, spur $76bn in investment and reduce emissions by boosting renewable energy.

Labor also plans to tighten the baseline for the safeguard mechanism, its signature climate change policy, which would force the 215 biggest industrial emitters to reduce their carbon footprint more steeply.

The current safeguard mechanism applies to companies producing more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Reputex modelling for the ALP says that from 2023-24, the cap on emissions would reduce by five million tonnes a year, reaching net zero by 2050. There would continue to be tailored treatment for emissions intensive trade-exposed industries.

The Paris climate accord includes a pact to keep temperatures growing less than two degrees from pre-industrial levels with an aim of limiting rises to 1.5 degrees.

Greenpeace said a faster transition to renewables and the electrification of transport were both needed to reverse increasing emissions.

“Ten years of negligence from the past government has seen transport emissions spiralling out of control. Tackling transport emissions needs to be a priority for this government,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific head of clean transitions, Jess Panegyres, said.