CLIMATE CHANGE - AUSTRALIA

The CSIRO Outline of Climate Change in Australia is the most comprehensive overview of predicted future climate change effects in Australia.

The following is an overview of historical performance from ABS Statistics:

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS - AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE ON A GLOBAL PROBLEM

In 2004, Australia's total net GHG emissions, using KYOTO PROTOCOL accounting provisions, were 564.7 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (equivalent carbon emissions, incorporating other greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide etc)

CO₂ accounted for 415.0 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e, or 73.5% of Australia's total net emissions, methane for 119.7 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (21.2%), nitrous oxide for 24.8 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (4.3%) and the other gases made up 5.2 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (1.0%) of total emissions.

 

 

This is relatively small on a global scale, but on a per capita basis, Australia is among the 3 highest greenhouse polluters in the world.

 

The contribution to total net GHG emissions by sector gives an indication of the areas responsible for this level of greenhouse contribution. The major source of emissions was the energy sector (including stationary energy (specifically, coal powered energy plants), transport and fugitive emissions from fuels) which accounted for 387.2 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (68.6%) of total national emissions in 2004. The agriculture sector contributed a further 93.1 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (16.5%), land use, land use change and forestry 35.5 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (6.3%), industrial processes 29.8 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e (5.3%) and waste 19.1 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e or 3.3% of total national emissions.

 

Table 24.20 provides details of the change in GHG emissions on a sectoral basis over the period 1990-2004. Emissions from the energy sector (including electricity generation) increased by 34.7% from 287.5 mill. tonnes CO₂-e in 1990 to 387.2 mill. tonnes CO₂-e in 2004. While emissions from the agricultural, industrial processing and waste sectors remained relatively constant over this period, emissions from the land use, land use change and forestry sector declined from 128.9 mill. tonnes CO₂-e in 1990 to 35.5 mill. tonnes CO₂-e in 2004.

	1990		2004		Change from 1990 to 2004
Sector	Amount mill. t	Contribution to national emissions (%)	Amount mill. t	Contribution to national emissions (%)	Amount mill. t	mill. t	%
Energy	287.5	52.1	387.2	68.6	99.7	34.7
Fuel combustion (sector approach)
Energy industries	143.1	25.9	216.7	38.4	73.6	51.4
Manufacturing industries and construction	37.0	6.7	42.5	7.5	5.5	14.9
Transport	61.7	11.2	76.2	13.5	14.5	23.5
Other sectors	15.7	2.9	20.8	3.7	5.1	32.5
Fugitive emissions from fuels
Solid fuel	17.1	3.1	21.3	3.8	4.2	24.6
Oil and natural gas	13.0	2.3	9.8	1.7	-3.2	-24.0
Industrial processes	25.3	4.6	29.8	5.3	4.5	17.8
Mineral products	5.0	0.9	5.5	1.0	0.5	10.0
Metal production	16.2	2.9	14.7	2.6	-1.5	-9.3
Other	4.1	0.8	9.6	1.7	5.5	134.2
Agriculture	91.1	16.5	93.1	16.5	2.0	2.2
Land-use change and forestry	128.9	23.4	35.5	6.3	-93.4	-72.5
Waste	19.2	3.4	19.1	3.3	0.0	-0.7
Total emissions/removals	551.9	100.0	564.7	100.0	12.8	2.3

(a) Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions
Note: Totals may not be additive due to rounding.
Source: Australian Greenhouse Office, 'National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2004'.

When combined, New South Wales (158.7 mill. tonnes of CO2-e), Queensland (158.5 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e) and Victoria (123.0 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e) accounted for over 78% of total GHG emissions in 2004. Total emissions from Western Australia were 68.5 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e, South Australia 27.6 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e, Northern Territory 15.6 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e, Tasmania 10.7 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e and the ACT 1.2 mill. tonnes of CO₂-e.

(Source: Australian Year Book 2007, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007)
 

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