1370.0 - Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/09/2010   
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Atmosphere

Carbon dioxide emissions per capita(a)
Graph Image for Carbon dioxide emissions per capita(a)

Footnote(s): (a)This graph refers to combustion only.

Source(s): International Energy Agency, CO2 Emissions from Fuel Consumption, 2009 edition

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

While Australia accounts for less than 2% of global emissions of carbon dioxide, its per person emissions are nearly twice that of many other OECD countries (OECD, 2009).

Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounted for about three-quarters (73%) of Australia's net greenhouse gas emissions in 2008, which is a subcomponent of the greenhouse gas emissions (excluding the land use, land use change and forestry sector) presented as a supplementary indicator (DCCEE, 2010b). Australia emitted 18.75 tonnes of carbon dioxide for every Australian, compared with an OECD country average of 10.97 tonnes per person.

Many large economies, including Japan (9.68 tonnes/person) and the United Kingdom (8.6 tonnes/person), had significantly lower per capita CO2 emissions than Australia. Of the OECD countries for which data is available, only Luxembourg (22.35 tonnes/person) and the United States (19.1 tonnes/person) had higher per capita CO2 emissions than Australia. However, some of the major oil exporting nations such as the United Arab Emirates (29.91 tonnes/capita) also had very high per capita emissions.

Australia's relatively high per capita emissions rate can be attributed to factors such as the high usage of coal in electricity generation, the energy intensive aluminium smelting sector, and the high dependence on motor vehicles and trucks for transport.

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