Australia’s Emissions Fall 1.4% in Year to March; Transport Ticks Up as Renewables Hit Records
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The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water said in its most recent quarterly inventory update, which came out on Monday, that Australia's greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.4% in the year ending March 2025 to 440.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The department said that the drop was due to lower emissions from electricity, industry, and agriculture, which were partly made up for by a small rise in emissions from transportation.
The report said that emissions from electricity fell by 0.5% over the year because the grid took in "record renewables generation and the ongoing displacement of coal." Stationary energy use, not including electricity, dropped 2.7% because less coal was used to make metals and less gas was used in homes. Industrial processes dropped 4.7% because of changes in technology and production in chemicals and metals. Agriculture went down by 1.3%, which is because there are fewer cattle and sheep grazing.
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Transport costs went up 0.5% from the previous year because more diesel was used on roads and more flights were taken within the country. The department said in its March-quarter summary that "this result largely reflects decreases" in electricity, fugitives, and stationary energy. Transport was the only area that saw an increase.
The report said that national emissions fell 1.0% in trend terms from December to March, which is a quarter of a year. The update says that early signs point to the June quarter being lower in trend terms as well, with the annual change to June tracking a 2.4% drop compared to the previous year. &
Over the course of the year, fugitive emissions went down by 2.2%. This was helped by new carbon capture and storage projects and less coal mining. The department said that its most recent estimates now include "emission reductions from the Moomba CCS project," which started injecting CO₂ in September 2024.
The update said again that carbon dioxide makes up about 64% of Australia's total emissions. In terms of trends, CO₂ emissions have gone down 38% since 2005, which is due to the switch from fossil fuels to renewables and a bigger land-sector sink. Methane makes up about 29% of the total and has gone down 16% since 2005. Nitrous oxide makes up about 4% and has gone down 9% over the same time. &x20;
The department said that the numbers for each quarter are made up of high-frequency indicators that have been adjusted for weather and seasonality to show the underlying trends. When indicators aren't available, estimates use the most recent annual values to keep coverage across sectors. &x20;
Why it matters: The most recent inventory shows that Australia's power system is still decarbonising as more renewable energy sources come online. This is happening even though demand for transportation is rising with more diesel and aviation use. Policymakers will keep an eye on whether the drop in electricity prices and the rise of CCS in the resources sector can make up for the rise in transportation costs through 2025.
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