According to the latest Quarterly Update report on the estimates of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Australia rose by 0.7% in 2018 to 538.2 MtCO2eq (+3.5 MtCO2eq).
Most of the 2018 increase came from stationary energy installations excluding power plants (+6%, +5.8 MtCO2eq), as LNG exports surged by 22%. The LNG sector was a large contributor to fugitive emissions, which rose by 4.9% (+2.7 MtCO2eq), due to flaring and venting of CH4 and CO2. Emissions related to industrial process also grew by 2.9% (+1 MtCO2eq), as energy-intensive steel and aluminium production rose by 11% and 6%, respectively. Transport emissions also grew by 2.8% (+2.7 MtCO2eq), spurred by a nearly 11% increase in diesel consumption.
These rising trends were partly offset by a decrease in GHG emissions recorded in the power sector (-3.5%, i.e. -6.6 MtCO2eq), as rising renewable power generation enabled to reduce coal and gas consumption. Emissions from the agriculture sector also contracted by 3.3% (-2.3 MtCO2eq), due to a decline in the beef cattle population. Overall, the Australian energy sector - including power plants and other energy facilities - accounted for 52% of total GHG emissions in 2018.
Australian GHG emissions have declined by 9.5% since 1990, thanks to the strong decrease in Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) emissions, that has partly offset the strong increase in emissions from the power sector and other energy plants.
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