Australia's Carbon Footprint 2008

Here are some details about Australia's carbon emissions.

- Australia's net Greenhouse emissions totalled 576 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2006, or about 1.5% of world emissions.
- Emissions in 2006 were 4.2% higher than 1990 levels, despite a 47% increase from stationary energy.
- Australia emits 28.1 tonnes of carbon per person, one of the highest per-capita levels in the developed world and five times more per person than China, due to use of coal for electricity.
- Transport and Energy account for 69.6% of Australian emissions, or 400.9 million tonnes.
- Stationary energy, which includes electricity generation, petroleum refining and gas processing, accounts for 49.9% of emissions, or 287.4 million tonnes.
- Transport accounts for 14% of emissions, or 79.1 million tonnes. Road transport and passenger cars accounted for 12% of national emissions.
- Agriculture created 15.6% of emissions, or 90.1 million tonnes.
10.9% of Australian emissions, or 62.8 million tonnes, come from sheep and cattle, due to gases produced when they digest food.
- Land use and forestry account for 6.9% of emissions, or 40 million tonnes, down more than 70% from 96.5 million tonnes in 1990.
- Carbon dioxide represents 74% of Australian emissions (427.8 million tonnes), methane 20.5% (118 million tonnes), and nitrous oxide 4% (24.2 million tonnes).
- The energy sector is the main source of carbon dioxide (86%), while agriculture is the main source of methane (59%).
- Australia is the world's biggest coal exporter, with coal used to generate about 77% of Australia's electricity. Poland, China and South Africa also rely on coal for more than 75% of electricity generation.
- Australia has the world's largest reserves of uranium and is a major uranium exporter, but has no domestic nuclear power.
- Limited carbon trading already exists in Australia. The New South Wales state introduced a Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme in 2003, which forces electricity suppliers to meet Greenhouse targets by investing in projects to offset emissions. The Australian Capital Territory has a similar scheme.

The fact is, Australia is significantly behind the rest of the developed world thanks largely to the govenment's unholy alliance with the coal industry. The sooner those in power showed some balls and actually made some serious decisions about finding meaningful alternative energy sources as a replacement for coal-fired power plants, the more respect the rest of the world might have for the country.

Carbon Footprint Australian Government Not Doing Enough

When it comes to fostering the use of renewable energy, it is an undeniable fact that the Australian Government are all talk and very little action.

The Australian coal industry is the beneficiary of a taxpayer-funded $300 million discount on diesel fuel. At least $9 billion of taxpayer subsidies are palmed across to fossil fuel industries, greenhouse gas increasing, polluting, carbon footprint bloating fossil fuel giants.

Meanwhile the development, construction and funding of renewable energy in this country creeps along at glacial pace with little or no help from our State or Federal Governments.

For heavens’ sake, we are a renewable energy goldmine here in Australia. With our hot climate and endless open spaces we have enough sunshine (plus room to capture it) to power the entire country hundreds of times over. We’re an island with endless coastal breezeways that would be wind farm paradise. And, did I mention we’re an island? Tidal and ocean current energy sources completely surround us. We have got renewable energy potential coming out of our proverbials.
Instead, the Federal government directs public money at the ratio of 28:1 towards fossil fuel use over renewable energy use.

All it takes is a government with the gumption to divert the funds away from the coal, gas and oil industries and into the renewables industry. The Howard Government has left us languishing behind the rest of the world and it seems no-one is willing to make the effort to catch up.

To give you an example of how pathetic some of our governments around the country are, you need go no further than the New South Wales Government’s sorry excuse for a Renewable Energy strategy. What does the Iemma government come up with? Committees, billions pumped into new baseload power stations, calls for private sector to fund infrastructure costs. And when they get to Clean Energy, the first thing mentioned is Clean Coal – in other words carbon capture. Rather than reduce the use of coal powered power plants, the Iemma Government wants to

1. Increase their use and
2. Rely on an, as yet, unproven form of locking away the carbon emissions they will produce.

On December 10, 2007 the NSW State Government announced a total of $160 million in additional funding for clean energy. You know what $160 million will get you? If you’re lucky you may just get an 80MW wind farm out of it. Basically, a good start.

But wait, you keep reading and of that $160 million, the state government is setting aside $100 million of it for the Clean Coal Fund. So once again, the coal industry gets the bulk of the funding rather than putting it where the future lies, in renewable energy.