Australia's rising LNG production pushes GHG emissions upward

According to the Australian government, Australia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reached 538.9 MtCO₂eq (+0.6%) for the year to March 2019. The growth is largely due to a 19% increase in LNG exports and to a higher steel and aluminum production. Without the impact of LNG production on emissions (+4.7 MtCO₂eq), domestic GHG emissions would have fallen, as the growth in wind and solar power generation contributed to a 2.1% drop in GHG emissions from the power sector.  GHG emissions in Australia, which pledged to reduce its emissions by at least 26% from 2005 levels by 2030 under the Paris Climate Accord, stood 11.7% below their 2005 level in the year to March 2019.

Australia bets on the recent start-up of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project off Western Australia, which will bury up to 4 MtCO₂eq/year of GHG, to help reduce emissions from the LNG sector. The government praises LNG exports, which amounted to A$47.8bn (US$32bn), considering that they have the potential to reduce global emissions by up to 152 MtCO₂eq (28% of Australia’s annual emissions).