21 December, 2018

Australia Climate Factsheets - Industry

Authors

Ursula Fuentes Hutfilter, Jasmin Cantzler, Fabio Sferra, Bill Hare, Gaurav Ganti, Matt Beer

The bark of a Poplar gum Eucalyptus platyphylla, Australia

Together with the Australian Conservation Foundation, we have been analysing Australia’s emissions profile and policies. This factsheet focuses on Australia’s industry and outlines how it compares with other similar economies, breaks down where industry emissions come from and evaluates whether there are policies in place to decarbonise the sector.

Australia’s manufacturing sector – one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions from industry – is effectively standing still on energy efficiency, losing out on the benefits other countries’ industries are getting from improving their energy efficiency.

Australia’s industrial sector is responsible for 28% of total emissions. They are mainly caused by “direct combustion”, in other words burning fossil fuels for heat, steam or pressure in either the manufacturing, energy or mining sectors. With a rapid increase in production of liquified natural gas (LNG) for export, LNG processing is one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions. Increasing gas extraction is also leading to more fugitive emissions.

Australia industrial greenhouse gas emissions

Other factsheets in the series:

Australia’s pollution profile and how to turn it around

Australia’s vehicle fleet – dirty and falling further behind

Australia’s power supply: brown and polluting

Decarbonisation targets and 1.5℃ pathways

Publications

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Climate Action Tracker: 2024 warming projection update

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Decarbonising light-duty vehicle road transport

The Climate Action Tracker provides updated 1.5ºC compatible benchmarks for the transport sector for the world as a whole and for seven individual countries; the US, EU, China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia.

Emissions Gap Report 2024: No more hot air … please!

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The role of northern forests in limiting warming to 1.5°C

Northern forests are critical in the race to net zero CO₂ by mid-century. Protecting and restoring these forests, alongside steep and rapid reductions in fossil fuel emissions, is essential both to mitigating emissions and to supporting forest ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Methodology underpinning the State of Climate Action series: 2024 update

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LNG shipbuilding industry heading to huge oversupply

The LNG shipbuilding industry appears to be doubling down on building new carriers, ignoring the global shift to a low carbon economy and putting itself into an even worse oversupply situation than a year ago, we find in our updated report.

Setting 1.5°C compatible wind and solar targets

Based on global energy system modelling sense-checked against key national studies, this report presents new analysis on what a 1.5°C-aligned rollout of wind and solar could look like for key countries. It aims to inform target setting for 2030, 2035 and beyond in third generation NDCs.

Technical guide for the development of long-term low emission development strategies in Africa

This technical guide proposes concrete steps and actions to help African countries develop strong, high-performing Long-Term Low Emission and Climate Resilient Development Strategies that chart a low-emission development path, build resilience, encourage innovation, and create new opportunities for green growth.

Evaluating the near and long-term role of carbon dioxide removal in meeting global climate objectives

For 1.5°C pathways with limited overshoot, most of the mitigation between now and 2030 should come from emissions reductions (70%), with reductions from cutting non-CO2 emissions (20%) and land-based carbon dioxide removals such as afforestation and preventing deforestation (10%) making up the remainder.

What good looks like: G7 climate policy 2024 update

This brief outlines seven key policy recommendations for this June’s G7 summit that, if adopted, would demonstrate the ambition and leadership needed to keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit in sight.

Tripling renewables by 2030: interpreting the global goal at the regional level

At COP28, governments agreed to triple global renewable capacity by 2030. This report breaks down what a 1.5ºC-aligned renewables rollout would look like at the regional level and calculate the associated investment needs.

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