4 July, 2019

Evaluating the significance of Australia’s global fossil fuel carbon footprint

Authors

Paola Yanguas Parra, Bill Hare, Ursula Fuentes Hutfilter, Niklas Roming

Australia could be responsible for 13% of Paris Agreement- compatible global CO2 emissions in 2030

Australia’s share of global CO2 emissions from domestic use of fossil fuels was about 1.4% in 2017. Accounting for fossil fuel exports lifts Australia’s global carbon footprint to about 5%. This is equivalent to the total emissions of Russia, which is ranked the fifth biggest CO2 emitter globally.

Australia is the world’s largest coal (thermal + metallurgical) exporter, accounting for about 29% of traded coal globally in 2016 and will soon be the world’s largest natural gas (LNG) exporter. As a consequence, Australia's global carbon footprint is very significant, with exported fossil fuel emissions currently representing around 3.6% of global emissions. In 2017, Australian coal and gas exports produced around 2.9% and 0.6% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion respectively.

Australia is one of the highest per capita CO2 emitters in the world. On a per capita basis, Australia’s carbon footprint, including exports, surpasses China by a factor of 9, the US by a factor of 4 and India by a factor of 37.

The results of this analysis show that If current government and industry projections for fossil fuel exports are realised, Australia could be responsible for about 13% of Paris Agreement- compatible global CO2 emissions in 2030. By far the largest growth would be coming from coal exports.

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