National Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows renewables are on the rise

The Australian Government has released the March 2023 Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, saying that renewables are now playing a bigger role in Australia’s energy mix than ever before.

The inventory shows renewables accounted for 39% of generation across the National Energy Market in the year to March 2023 — which is an 18.6% increase on the previous 12 months — and rose further to 40% in the year to June 2023, according to a press release from Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.

In the year to March 2023, electricity emissions decreased by 3.9% but transport increased by 6.4%, bouncing back after lower numbers were seen due to COVID-19. The increase in transport emissions follows global trends and is comparable to many developed economies around the world including the EU and New Zealand.

Emissions are estimated at 465.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for the year to March 2023, compared to 465.5 million tonnes for the previous 12 months. Australia’s emissions are now 24.4% below June 2005 levels.

Bowen said that while the increase in renewables is positive, the results reinforced the need for stronger action on decarbonisation.

“The Albanese government’s legislated emissions reduction target, Rewiring the Nation plan and Capacity Investment Scheme are driving cleaner, cheaper energy but we have much more to do,” Bowen said. “Our reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism, which only came into effect in July and aren’t included in this inventory update, will deliver over 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions to 2030 — equivalent of taking two-thirds of the nation’s cars off the road.”

The Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory for March 2023 can be found here.

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