Articles * Sectors

May 17, 2024

1 min read

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by sector: how do they compare?

Australia's economy is divided into sectors. Sectors group together a wide range of businesses and activities that have shared characteristics. These sectors are defined for the purposes of greenhouse gas inventories. Here is an explanation of each sector. Electricity The electricity sector refers to the segment of the economy involved in the generation, transmission, distribution, and retailing of electricity. It is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to the reli

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May 17, 2024

2 min read

Emissions from non-renewable energy: what greenhouse gases do Australia’s fossil fuels create?

Australia's reliance on non-renewable energy sources, particularly coal, natural gas, and oil, is a massive contributor to the country's greenhouse gas emissions. These fossil fuels are the primary sources of energy for electricity, heating, transportation, and industrial processes in Australia. They emit a wide range of greenhouse gases throughout their lifecycle. Coal Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel. It has historically been a cornerstone of Australia's energy system, especial

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May 17, 2024

1 min read

Emissions in the electricity sector by fuel type

Different fuel types have vastly different effects on greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector. Here is a breakdown. Coal Produces the highest amount of CO2 emissions per unit of electricity generated due to its carbon-rich composition. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions, releasing large quantities of carbon dioxide and other pollutants like sulfur dioxide and mercury. Natural Gas Emits about 50-60% less CO2 than coal when burned for ele

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May 17, 2024

1 min read

Transport emissions: how Australia’s states and territories compare

Transport is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. Several factors affects transport emissions across Australia's states and territories, including population size, urban planning, geographic challenges, and transport policies. New South Wales Has one of the highest transport emissions in Australia, largely due to its significant population and extensive road network, leading to high levels of vehicle use and congestion. Victoria Also reports high transport emissions, wi

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May 17, 2024

1 min read

Transport emissions: what role does transport play in Australia’s greenhouse gases?

Transport is Australia's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, after electricity. This is primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles. The sector's emissions bounced around during the pandemic and are now slightly below pre-Covid levels. Road Transport Dominance Road transport, including cars, trucks, and buses, is the largest contributor within the transport sector, with private car use and heavy freight being particularly emissions-intensive. Growing Emissions Emissions

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May 17, 2024

1 min read

Transport emissions: Road transport in Australia’s greenhouse gases

Transport is Australia's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, after electricity. 'Road' is the biggest category in transport emissions, by far. When we drill down into 'road' emissions, cars dominate. Just 2% of Australia's 21 million registered vehicles are electric. That figure is growing. In 2022: * Battery electric registrations increased by 102% * Hybrid electric regos increased by 31%. * Combined, they add up to 125,000 cars. But something else has changed. There are more diesel ve

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May 17, 2024

1 min read

Transport emissions: how each type of transport compares

Transport is Australia's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter. Australia’s transport emissions are divided into four types: road, aviation, maritime (aka navigation), and railways. Road 'Road' is the biggest category in transport emissions, by far. Cars and Light Vehicles are the biggest source of transport emissions because of their widespread use for personal transportation and reliance on petrol and diesel fuels. They dominate Australia's transport emissions due to high personal vehicle

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Mar 15, 2024

3 min read

Australian government projections versus today's reality

Let's compare two things: today's reality and tomorrow's projections. As lowly data journalists, the assumptions and models baked into the government's projections about Australia's 2030 emissions are above our pay grade. But we think we're staying within scope if we ask these simple questions: What if nothing changes? The latest quarterly emissions update showed a 3.4% fall on the previous quarter. That sounds half-way decent, except December quarter emissions are always lower. They jump

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Sep 14, 2023

2 min read

Should Australia report gross and net emissions separately?

Last week, we sent a chart that showed Australia's emissions including and excluding the Land Use sector. It prompted many comments and questions. So, let’s do a deeper dive. What is 'Land Use'? When Australia reports its national greenhouse inventory, it divides emissions into five sectors. One of them is Land Use. (Its long name is Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry, aka LULUCF). LULUCF refers to human activities that make land either a source or sink of emissions. A sink is anything th

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Aug 23, 2023

2 min read

Energy intensity: How much energy to move people and stuff

In the last briefing, we looked at transport emissions. But that's just one key indicator. Another is energy intensity. Let's dive in ... Why energy intensity matters Energy intensity is the power we need to get a specific output. When it comes to transport, that output is moving people and stuff. Energy efficiency means we use less power to get the same result. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says improving energy efficiency is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to reduce emissions

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Aug 15, 2023

2 min read

Australians like EVs. But we love SUVs too.

In this briefing: we drill down into car emissions. Headlines tell us Electric Vehicle sales are 'soaring'. We all know percentage increases off a low base tend to sound impressive. So this briefing gives you context. The first thing to know * Transport is Australia's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, after electricity. * The sector's emissions bounced around during the pandemic and are now slightly below pre-Covid levels. Chart below: Sector emissions (million tonnes CO₂-e. Excludes l

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Jul 25, 2023

2 min read

3 simple electricity charts

Last week, we added electricity emissions to OnlyFacts. Our feature chart has three buttons at the top: electricity by power output, by emissions output and emissions intensity. Emissions intensity means emissions* divided by electricity produced. That is, how much bang do we get for our buck? Let's look at emissions output first. Data viz is always tricky when you're trying to put big and smallish numbers together. Above, you can see that emissions from brown and black coal totally obsc

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