Greenhouse gas emissions ‘at historically lowest levels’

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have hit their lowest levels on record, falling by 5.3 per cent in the year to March.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor. Picture: Gary Ramage

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have hit their lowest levels on record, falling by 5.3 per cent in the year to March and putting the country on track to meet its Paris Agreement target.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor said emissions were 20.8 per cent below 2005 levels, the baseline year for Australia’s Paris commitments to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030.

The fall in pollution was ­fuelled by major reductions across the energy and transport sectors, with emissions in the National Electricity Market dropping 4.6 per cent in the year to June.

Mr Taylor said when exports were excluded from the national greenhouse gas inventory data, domestic emissions were 38.3 per cent lower than 2005 levels.

“Emissions have continued to fall over the last year even as the Australian economy recovers from the global pandemic. The economy was 1.1 per cent larger in the March quarter 2021 relative to the March quarter 2020. On the same basis, emissions were 3.2 per cent lower than a year earlier,” he said. “In the year to March 2021, emissions were 494.2 million tonnes – 5.3 per cent or 27.8 million tonnes lower than in 2020.”

While the pandemic has impacted output from some sectors, Mr Taylor said ongoing emissions decline in the electricity market was being driven by the country’s “world-leading deployment of solar and wind”.

“Fugitive emissions fell 8.3 per cent or 4.5 million tonnes, with the ramp-up of the Gorgon carbon capture and storage facility in Western Australia making a significant contribution. Transport emissions also fell by 13.2 per cent or 13.1 million tonnes,” he said.

“Despite upward pressure from growth in exports and industry, emissions across the economy are now the lowest on a per capita basis in three decades.”

Amid pressure on the federal government to adopt a net zero emissions target by 2050, Mr Taylor is finalising a long-term emissions reduction strategy ahead of the UN climate change conference in Glasgow later this year.

The strategy will provide new forecasts towards hitting the Paris 2030 target, and is expected to show improvements in Australia’s position in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest on Monday called on the government to reverse its refusal to set a target date on carbon neutrality, saying a firm target was “critical” to encouraging business investment.

Mr Taylor said “while there is still work to be done”, the emissions data backed the government’s strategy, underpinned by the technology investment road map, ramping up hydrogen production, and supporting uptake of electric vehicles.

“Over the last two years, the projected emissions reductions required to achieve that target have fallen by 639 million tonnes – the equivalent of taking all of Australia’s 14.7 million cars off the road for 14 years,” he said.

“Between 2005 and 2019, Australia reduced emissions faster than many similar economies, including Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the US.”

The government data said emissions per capita were 47.8 per cent lower than in 1990, while emissions intensity of the economy was 66 per cent lower in the same period.

The production of exports for overseas markets generated 38.9 per cent of Australia’s total emissions.