Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are at their highest levels ever.
That’s one of the alarming findings of the Australia Institute’s National Energy Emissions Audit.
ANU energy policy specialist Dr Hugh Saddler prepared the audit, which gives an indication of key greenhouse gas and energy trends.
Dr Saddler said petrol and diesel were the leading sources of Australia’s greenhouse gas emission increase.
“Australia’s failure to invest in efficient transport infrastructure, such as rail, has led to emissions from transport fuels continuing to grow; again, unlike the rest of the developed world,” he said.
Key findings of the National Energy Emissions Audit include:
- Australia’s energy emissions continue to increase, breaking all-time record
- Among developed nations, only Australia and Turkey are breaking emissions records
- Petroleum, in particular, diesel consumption, is the main driver of emission increases
- There is no indication of when or if growth in petroleum emissions will stop
Road transport policy as important as energy policy
The audit found Australia’s road transport policy failure to be “as dire” as its energy policy failure. It found an “absence of any serious policy measures” to curb the growth in energy use by road transport.
According to the report, electricity generation is the only one of Australia’s top four sources of greenhouse gas emissions to record falling emissions for more than two successive years. This is largely due to solar energy uptake.
By contrast, transport has followed a constant upward trend.
Petroleum emissions up 12% in six years
Including road fuels, air fuels, LPG and bulk diesel, petroleum emissions have climbed by 12 per cent since 2011. Most of this is due to a large increase in on and off-road diesel combustion, the report found.
Bulk diesel is increasing in the mining states of WA and Queensland, which use 60 per cent of the total for this category. However, general road use of diesel is increasing across the country.
“The inexorable increase in road transport activity and associated emissions is almost entirely unaffected, unlike electricity consumption, by any increase in fuel use efficiency,” Dr Saddler said.
