PLEA Network

9 July 2019 Renew Economy: Australia’s emissions surge again, and now well behind Paris trajectory. Australia is falling further behind its Paris emission reduction targets, as the latest emissions estimate from consultancy NDEVR Environmental shows a surge in the first quarter of 2019, increasing the gap between Australia’s emissions and the trajectory that the government insists will be met “in a canter”. In the first three months of 2019, NDEVR estimates in the latest edition of its ‘Tracking 2 Degrees Report’ that Australia’s emissions jumped by 3.4 million tonnes CO2-e compared to the same period a year prior, or around 2.5%. The emissions increase was driven by a substantial increase in electricity emissions, which jumped 8.2%, due to a slight fall in renewable electricity and a rise in fossil fuel generation. NDEVR Environmental track’s Australia’s progress against the emissions reduction targets it has committed to under the Paris Agreement. Its timel and accurate estimates of Australia’s emissions contrasts with the Government’s often late delivery of emissions updates despite orders of Parliament mandating deadlines for their release. The trend shows Australia falling increasingly behind the trajectory needed to achieve its Paris target, which requires Australia to reduce overall emissions through to 2030 by a range of 26% to 28% from 2005 levels. Access more here