Australia’s carbon emissions fell 0.9 per cent last year, with decreases in electricity, agriculture and transport partially offset by increases in other sectors.
Environmentalists fear the progress will be short-lived as the drop was driven by drought and policies that are coming to an end, while the government favours a growth in gas.
AAP Newsagency report the latest government data shows emissions fell during the December quarter by 0.5 per cent.
Emissions from exports increased by three per cent last year, driven by liquefied natural gas, which the government argues is helping other countries reduce their emissions.
Agricultural emissions were down 5.8 per cent, partly as a result of the drought, while emissions from the electricity sector fell 2.9 per cent.
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources puts this down to a 4.3 per cent reduction in coal generation and a 10 per cent increase in renewable energy in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
AAP reports emissions from the NEM in the March quarter decreased by 0.7 per cent from the previous period.
Australia’s total carbon dioxide emissions totalled 532.5 mega-tonnes last year, a level not seen since 2015.
Climate Council senior researcher Tim Baxter said the “temporary” downturn of emissions means nothing if the polluting gas sector continues to grow.
Greenpeace agrees, saying “New data that shows a slight dip in Australia’s emissions last year will be unsustainable without a plan to dramatically reduce our emissions by weaning the country off coal, oil and gas which drive climate change and cause more extreme weather events like bushfires.”
AAP reports the Australia Institute’s energy program director Richie Merzian said the drop in emissions did not occur because of any policy from the conservative Liberal-Nation federal government.
He said electricity emissions were down because of state Labor government renewable energy policies, the dip in transport is because of consumer choice, and agriculture because of drought.
The federal opposition Labor Party’s climate spokesman Mark Butler said the government could not shy away from a net zero emissions target for 2050.
“The government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison took the advice of scientists when it came to COVID-19.
“They can no longer ignore climate scientists,” he said.
AAP reports the data comes as the next major UN climate talks, COP26 in Glasgow, have been delayed until the end of 2021, a year later than originally planned, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The COP26 summit has been billed as the most important climate change summit since the 2015 talks that produced the United Nations sponsored Paris Agreement.
Countries have been asked to bring plans for stronger climate action.
Australia’s Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor will take a technology roadmap and investment statement as the main tools in his policy briefcase.
The latest government data show:
* The waste sector, including landfills, wastewater treatment and incineration, remained steady last year, amounting to about 2.4 per cent of total emissions
* Land use and forestry increased by 7.3 per cent last year.
The federal government said the overall progress equated to about a 13 per cent reduction in emissions on 2005 levels
By 2030, the government wants to see a 26 to 28 per cent reduction, in line with its Paris Agreement.
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