Transport emissions rose more than 12 per cent in the last three months of 2021 as lockdown restrictions eased across Australia | EXCLUSIVE by Laura_R_Chung
, using published and projected data, show the country’s emissions in 2021 were 498.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent lower, or 1.1 per cent, than the previous year. The research attributed this to an increase in renewable electricity generation in the electricity sector.
Ndevr’s managing director Matt Drum warns these emissions figures will like increase in the coming months driven by a lack of climate policy, the war in Ukraine pushing world leaders to abandon“We have made a commitment of net-zero by 2050, but we need mechanisms in place and a plan in place to demonstrate some will and some action to hit those interim targets,” he said. “We don’t want to get to December 30, 2049 and then start to try to reduce emissions.
The research also found the pandemic impacted emissions since June 2020, but had bounced in the last three months of 2021, increasing by 12 per cent to the previous quarter, as interstate and international borders reopened. The transport sector is Australia’s third-largest source of greenhouse gases, producing 17.5 per cent of emissions.