Australia's Carbon Emissions Rise In 2021 Amid Pandemic Recovery

Illustration Image (humasprovkaltara/ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Australia's carbon emissions will increase by almost 1 percent in 2021 as driving and travel increases.

The increase, which local authorities expect to continue into the March 2022 quarter, poses a challenge for the new Labor administration.

This party, as reported by Antara, has made a climate promise for the country with a target to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030.

Carbon dioxide emissions increased by 4.1 million tonnes driven by a 4 percent increase in transportation emissions, a 3.3 percent increase in the manufacturing sector and a 4.2 percent increase in the agriculture sector with recovery from drought.

Australia's Ministry of Industry said in its quarterly update that the increase was partially offset by a 4.2 per cent decline in the largest emitting sector, power generation, with more power coming from wind and solar and less from coal and gas power generation.

It said the trend indicated a further increase in the March 2022 quarter to 489 Mt CO2-e, which would be up 2 percent from March 2021.

The manufacturing sector has recorded the largest percentage increase in emissions since 1990, with an increase of 54 percent or 35.8 Mt CO2-e largely due to the rapid growth of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry.

Emissions from major producers will be the target of a government plan to tighten so-called "protection mechanisms" that require the country's largest emitters to keep their emissions below agreed limits, or baselines, and purchase carbon credits when they exceed the baseline. that.

The government also aims to offer tax breaks on electric vehicles to increase use of cleaner cars, which will help reduce emissions from the transportation sector.

"Tackling transport emissions needs to be a priority for this government," Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Lindsay Soutar said in a statement.