A new study has shown that Australia is undermining a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuel as coal and gas exports from the country cause more climate damage than those from any other country bar Russia.
The analysis, which was commissioned by the University of New South Wales’ Australian Human Rights Institute, found Australia was the third biggest fossil fuel exporter on an energy basis in 2021, trailing only Russia and the US.
Australia ranked second on an emission basis. It overtook the US due to a majority of Australia’s exports being coal, a particularly emissions-intensive fuel. It meant that while Australia releases about only 1% of global emissions at home, it was linked to about 4.5% once its exports were counted.
The report, by non-profit science and policy organisation Climate Analytics, said based on government forecasts, Australia’s fossil fuel exports were expected to remain at roughly the current level until at least 2035 as it continued to approve new coal and gas export developments.
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Climate Analytics’ chief executive, Bill Hare, said this was incompatible with a range of international commitments Australia had made, including a call backed by nearly 200 countries at the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai in December for the world to transition away from fossil fuels, “accelerating action this decade”.
“Yet here we have the Australian government intent on a deliberate strategy that will see its gas exports soar, exporting billions of tonnes of emissions, inconsistent with achieving net zero, and completely inconsistent with the science of this issue,” he said.
Dr Gillian Moon, the project lead of the Australian Human Rights Institute’s climate accountability project, said it was striking that emissions from Australia’s fossil fuels exports had been about 30bn of CO2 over the 63 years since 1961 and this was forecast to increase by 50% between now and 2035.
She said the country was continuing on this path despite being more vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis than most other countries. “We have domestic [emissions reduction] targets, but nothing on our exports. We export 91% of our coal and about three-quarters of gas, and we have no plan to get off this trade,” she said. “The Australian public deserve to know the truth about this and the consequences for us.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
