New data shows carbon pollution rose 0.8% in 2021 as manufacturing, agriculture and gas bounced back from pandemic lockdowns
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2021 as the country wound back Covid-19 lockdowns without taking significant steps to maintain a fall in carbon pollution recorded during the pandemic.
If the change in land use and forestry emissions is excluded, pollution from the rest of the Australian economy – including the country’s substantial fossil fuel industries – has dipped by only 1.6% since 2005. The rise of solar power and a cut in coal generation helped push emissions from electricity down 4.2% compared with the previous year.
This estimate is not universally accepted: an analysis of Queensland data suggested forests in that state were being cleared at.Remove changes in land use and forestry from the national greenhouse accounts and the overall change across the fossil fuel economy is small. Electricity emissions dropped nearly 19%, but pollution from other “stationary energy” facilities – essentially heavy industry – were up nearly 26%.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Labor blames Coalition ‘failure’ for Australia’s increased emissions in 2021Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions grew in 2021 by 0.8 per cent with the Albanese government accusing the Coalition of previously relying on the COVID-19 pandemic and drought for emission reductions.
Read more »
‘Older, whiter and smaller’: new census data to show how Covid changed AustraliaThe 2021 census was taken when much of Australia was in lockdown. The data will be a snapshot of the ‘enormous ripple effect’ of the pandemic
Read more »
No time to 'stop, think, breathe': Hospitality businesses cop brunt of staff shortagesWestern Australia's hospitality industry still faces severe staffing shortages, even as the state's COVID cases drop, with restaurant owners often forced to pick up the slack themselves.
Read more »
Thousands protest against G7 in Munich as leaders gather for summitDemands include end to fossil fuels, preservation of biodiversity and greater social justice
Read more »
Study suggests COVID's third wave was worse for ICUs than the first two combinedNew research suggests more Australian COVID patients required intensive care during the third wave of the virus than the first two waves combined.
Read more »