Name: Australia's carbon emission sink for first time in years
Brand: smh.com.au
SKU: smh-com-au-56
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Australia's carbon emission sink for first time in years

preview

Emissions sink for first time in years as power sector pollution fallsWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementAustralia's greenhouse gas emissions sank in 2019, the first annual retreat in four years, as renewables cut further into coal's dominance in the power sector.Analysis by environmental consultants Ndevr, using published and projected data, show the country's emissions totalled about 528.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent, down about 4.8 MtCO2-e, or 0.9 per cent, on 2018.Renewable energy's rising share of electricity generation has been the main driver towards lower emissions. Wind, solar and hydro power generation briefly exceeded half the power of the National Electricity Market for the first time on Easter Saturday and are running about a quarter of supply.For the September-December period, emissions from the sector totalled about 39.2 Mt CO2-e, or the lowest since the data set began in 2001, Ndevr said.Black coal-fired generation has made way for the increases in clean energy output, dropping to its lowest quarterly level in three years in the final quarter of 2019 at 25.2 terawatt-hours, Ndevr said, citing data from the Australian Energy Market Operator.Among the states, NSW sourced a record 19 per cent of its electricity from renewables including roof-top solar in the December quarter, up three percentage points on the previous quarter.Victoria, too, sourced a record 23 per cent of its power from renewables for the period, with both rooftop and large-scale solar generation setting new highs. Tasmania led all states with a 98 per cent share for renewables.AdvertisementWhile welcome, the emission reduction rate was "a long way off" the pace needed to meet the Paris climate goals which Australia has signed up to, said Matt Drum, Ndevr's managing director. On the current trajectory, the country would still overshoot its Paris targets by over a full year's worth of carbon emissions.Initial analysis of 2020 figures show electricity consumption has only registered a slight decrease even with the coronavirus disruption. Power usage in March was about 5 per cent below the same month a year ago, and down only 2 per cent for April.Emissions from the burning of liquid fuels, such as for cars, ships and aircraft, will likely show a much steeper reduction – before some bounce back as economies recover. Any pollution cut, though, will probably make little impact on the longer-term climate crisis."We don't need a six-month downturn in emissions," Mr Drum said. "We need a long-term systemic downturn."Angus Taylor, the federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister, said the government was "taking real and meaningful action to reduce emissions"."We currently source around a quarter of our electricity from renewables in the National Electricity Market," he said. "Official projections forecast this will grow by more than 40 per cent by 2025."Separately, analysis by RepuTex – a carbon market consultancy – estimates even current policies will see renewable energy's share of the electricity supply reach half by 2030 and three-quarters by 2040.The shift, underpinned by state policy such as the Victorian and Queensland renewable energy targets, will drive about 17 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity by 2030. Rooftop solar will add another 4GW. By 2040, some 18GW of thermal coal capacity will exit the market, or just over half the current level, RepuTex said.Get our Coronavirus Update newsletter for the day's crucial developments at a glance, the numbers you need to know and what our readers are saying. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Herald's newsletter and The Age's .Log in, or to save articles for later. writes on environment issues for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Advertisement

Emissions sink for first time in years as power sector pollution fallsWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementAustralia's greenhouse gas emissions sank in 2019, the first annual retreat in four years, as renewables cut further into coal's dominance in the power sector.Analysis by environmental consultants Ndevr, using published and projected data, show the country's emissions totalled about 528.2...

public

Peter Hannam

The Sydney Morning Herald - Australia's leading news source. Independent. Always.

Australia's carbon emission sink for first time in years

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS