Jun 2 2009
The latest National Greenhouse Accounts released today demonstrate the need to turn Australia's emissions around, Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, said today.
"The underlying trends show Australia's carbon pollution is increasing - particularly in the energy sector," Senator Wong said.
Over the four quarters to the December quarter of 2008, Australia's national inventory was an estimated 553 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is an increase of 1.1 per cent compared with the corresponding period for the previous year.
"These results demonstrate the challenge of reducing emissions in all sectors of the economy," Senator Wong said. "For example, the emissions from the energy sector have increased by 42 per cent from 1990 to 2007, and by another 1.5 per cent in 2008.
"To start to reverse this growth in our emissions, we need to drive investment in renewable energy and clean technology with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme."
Preliminary estimates show that Australia's emissions were around 1 per cent below the Kyoto target for 2008 or, equivalently, 107 per cent of the 1990 base period.
"Without the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, Australia's emissions are expected to reach 120 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020.
"But if the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is introduced, Australia's emissions will be reduced by up to 25 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 if the world agrees to an ambitious global deal to stabilise levels of CO2 equivalent at 450 parts per million or lower."
Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts comprise four annual reports.
- The National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, the State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories and the National Inventory by Economic Sector report Australia's greenhouse gas emissions using the accounting rules for the Kyoto Protocol emissions targets.
- The National Inventory Report 2007 provides estimates of Australia's net greenhouse gas emissions for the period 1990-2007 and is submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as part of Australia's reporting obligations under that Convention.
- The National Inventory Report is prepared for the UNFCCC using different accounting rules to the Kyoto Protocol.
- The National Inventory Report shows an increase of 82 per cent in Australia's emissions from 1990 to 2007 as a result of a temporary jump in emissions from grasslands and croplands due to widespread drought conditions.
"While this does not affect Australia's Kyoto obligations, these figures highlight the importance of improving treatment of the land sector so that only anthropogenic emissions and removals are included towards mitigation commitments in any future global agreement," Senator Wong said.
"Australia will continue to advocate strongly for any future agreement to treat the land sector in a comprehensive and integrated way with provisions for the treatment of natural disturbance and inter-annual climate variability."
For more information and copies of the reports - or to access the online database - Australia's Greenhouse Emissions Information System - visit www.climatechange.gov.au/inventory.