As a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol (ratified in 2007), Australia is committed to limiting increases in net GHG emissions to 108% of its 1990 levels by 2008–2012 (the ‘Kyoto commitment period’). As reported in 2010 in its Fifth national communication on climate change (under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change),42 Australia remains on track to meet this commitment, largely due to a major reduction in emissions associated with LULUCF (80% from 1990 to 2008) and, more particularly, to less land clearing over the same period (Figure 3.13).42
In contrast, from 1990 to 2009, emissions (excluding LULUCF) grew by 30.5% (Figure 3.14). The largest increase was in the stationary energy sector, which includes emissions from fuel consumption for electricity generation; fuels consumed in the manufacturing, construction and commercial sectors; and other sources such as domestic heating. This sector grew by 51%, driven by a mix of factors, notably rising population and household incomes, and growth in demand for energy associated with substantial increases in the export of resources. In the same period, transport grew by 35% in response to increases in the number of vehicles. Fugitive emissions (which typically result from leaks during the production, processing, transport, storage and distribution of raw fossil fuels) increased by 23%, chiefly because of increased emissions from coal mines. Emissions due to industrial processes rose by 21%, principally associated with increased production of HFCs as substitutes for ozone depleting CFCs, and substantial (220%) growth in emissions from the chemical industry.39,42–43
The waste and agricultural sectors are the only ones to have recorded a decline in emissions from 1990 to 2009 (22% and 2%, respectively). In the waste sector, this reflected the increasing capture of methane from landfill in response to a combination of regulatory pressure and commercial gain (through use of the emissions as a source of energy). In agriculture, increases in emissions during the 1990s due to rising fertiliser use and savanna burning have been reversed since 2002, reflecting reduced fertiliser use and a significant drop in crop and animal production due to drought.39,42–43