COVID-19 pandemic brings cut to carbon emissions

Carbon emissions in the 12 months to September 2020 decreased by more than 4.4 per cent as COVID-19 took a sledgehammer to economic activity.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor. Picture: Gary Ramage

Carbon emissions in the 12 months to September 2020 decreased by more than 4.4 per cent as COVID-19 took a sledgehammer to economic activity.

A report from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources released on Friday showed emissions in the year to September were 510 million tonnes — the lowest level since 1995.

Emissions in the September quarter reduced by 1 per cent on trend terms but rose by 1.7 per cent on a seasonally adjusted and weather normalised basis.

“On a seasonally adjusted and weather normalised basis, there were signs of recovery in activity and emissions (1.7 per cent),” the report says.

“Although preliminary data for the December quarter show total emissions falling again.

“Overall, national emissions are preliminarily estimated to be 505Mt in the year to December 2020, a decrease of 5 per cent on the previous year.”

The economy grew by 3.3 per cent in the September quarter, with the increased economic activity contributing to an 11.7 per cent increase in carbon emissions from the transport sector in the September quarter. There was also a 2.8 per cent increase in emissions from the industrial sector.

“Although drought conditions have eased in the September quarter 2020, the cattle herd and sheep flocks are yet to fully recover,” the report says.

“There has been some rebound in crop production in the September quarter 2020 due to more favourable climatic conditions. Emissions from crop production should continue to increase in future quarters, with wheat production forecast to rebound strongly.”

Energy Minister Angus Taylor said emissions were 19 per cent below 2005 levels, the baseline year for the government’s 26-28 per cent Paris 2030 target.

“Increasing economic activity is flowing through to transport emissions, which rose during the quarter, together with emissions from agricultural production as the effects of the drought eased,” Mr Taylor said.

“The continuing structural decline in emissions from electricity is driven by Australia’s world leading deployment of solar and wind. Since 2017, Australia has invested $35 billion in renewables and we are continuing to deploy new solar and wind 10 times faster than the global per person average.”