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Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania

Tasmania's Greenhouse Gas Emissions

On 14 April 2023 the Australian Government released the State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories: 2021 (the latest figures).

You can read the full State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories, as part of the National Inventory Report, on the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water website.

Latest figures

In 2021, Tasmania’s emissions were minus 4.80 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e). This is a drop of 125.5 per cent from 1990 levels.

Tasmania was the first Australian jurisdiction to achieve net zero emissions, and has done so for the last nine years.

Tasmania's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2023

Tasmania's Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2021, by sector (Mt CO2-e)

The 2021 emissions for each reportable sector were:

  • Land Use, Change and Forestry (LULUCF): minus 13.13 Mt CO2-e
  • Waste: 0.38 Mt CO2-e
  • Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU): 1.56 Mt CO2-e
  • Agriculture: 2.76 Mt CO2-e
  • Energy: 3.63 Mt CO2-e, made up of:
    • Electricity generation: 0.13 Mt CO2-e
    • Direct combustion: 1.74 Mt CO2-e
    • Transport: 1.75 Mt CO2-e

What are greenhouse gases?

Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and make the Earth warmer. Those with the most significant impact on global warming are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Other common greenhouse gases include ozone and chlorofluorocarbons.

How are emissions measured?

Each greenhouse gas varies in terms of its contribution to climate change. Global warming potentials are used as a relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere. They compare the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of each gas to the amount of heat trapped by a similar mass of carbon dioxide.

Using this method, greenhouse gases are combined into a single, consistent value of carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2-e.

What are carbon sinks?

A carbon, or emissions, sink removes more carbon than it emits. The removed carbon is stored, often in the form of growing vegetation.

How are emissions reported?

Tasmania's emissions are reported as part of the Australian National Greenhouse Accounts, in accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reporting framework for national greenhouse gas inventories, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines for annual inventories.

The Tasmanian Government releases a report each year on Tasmania’s latest greenhouse gas emissions figures, which shows the state’s progress towards its emissions reduction target and monitors emissions by sector.

The Tasmanian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2023 will be published in mid-2023. The 2022 Report is available here:

Measurement and publication of our greenhouse gas figures is set out in the Climate Change (Greenhouse Gas Emissions) Regulations 2022

Emissions from energy

Electricity generation

Electricity generation accounts for less than 2 per cent of Tasmania’s emissions excluding LULUCF.

Tasmania is 100 per cent self-sufficient in renewable energy and has made a commitment to generate 200 per cent of our energy needs from renewable energy by 2040, which means Tasmania will double its renewable energy production. The Tasmanian Government is also fast-tracking a renewable hydrogen industry in Tasmania, with the goal of using locally-produced renewable hydrogen by 2022, and commercially exporting clean hydrogen by 2030.

Direct combustion

Direct combustion of fossil fuels for stationary energy and fugitive emissions accounts for approximately 21 per cent of Tasmania’s emissions (excluding LULUCF). Direct combustion includes emissions from: burning coal, gas, agricultural waste or forestry residue to generate heat, steam or pressure for manufacturing industries and construction; agriculture, forestry and fishing operations; commercial operations; and burning wood or gas for household heating and cooking.

Emissions from transport

Transport accounts for around 21 per cent of Tasmania’s emissions (excluding LULUCF). The majority (95 per cent) of transport emissions come from road transportation (made up of cars: 46 per cent, heavy duty trucks and buses: 31 per cent, and light commercial vehicles: 23 per cent).

Emissions from agriculture and industry

Agriculture

Agriculture is a key growth sector in Tasmania’s economy. Currently, the sector accounts for 33 per cent of Tasmania’s emissions (excluding LULUCF). The majority (75 per cent) of these emissions comes from enteric fermentation (digestive processes that result in methane production), mainly from cattle and sheep.

Forestry and land use

Forestry is a well-established industry in Tasmania, which provides jobs and large-scale export opportunities. Tasmania’s forests act as a carbon sink which offset all of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Projected climate changes mean it will be important to sustainably manage our current forests and plantations in order to offset atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Industrial processes and product use

Emissions from industrial processes and product use (IPPU) account for 19.0 per cent of Tasmania’s emissions (excluding LULUCF).

IPPU includes emissions from: the calcination of carbonate compounds (eg cement, lime or glass production); carbon when used as a chemical reductant (eg aluminium, ferromanganese and zinc production); and the production and use of synthetic gases such as hydrofluorocarbons (eg refrigeration, air conditioning and solvents).

Emissions from waste

Emissions are produced by the decomposition of organic waste in landfills, and from the release of greenhouse gases during the treatment of wastewater. Emissions from waste account for around 5 per cent of Tasmania’s emissions, excluding LULUCF.

Data sources

The report on Tasmania's greenhouse gas emissions is compiled using data from the Australian Government's State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2021 (STGGI), which is prepared as part of the National Inventory Report. The Australian Government submits the Inventories to meet Australia's annual reporting commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.

Under the UNFCCC, the National Inventory Report must report net emissions from the following sectors:

  • energy
  • industrial processes and product use (IPPU)
  • agriculture
  • land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF)
  • waste.

The National Inventory Report runs two years behind the current date, and represents the most recent official data in Australia on annual emissions. The current National Inventory Report details estimates of Australia’s emissions for the period 1990 to 2021. The year 2021 refers to the Australian financial year 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

Each year, the Australian Government updates how it calculates the national emissions figures, updating all the figures from 1990 to the previous reporting year. The figures are recalculated to ensure that they are accurate, complete, and can be compared with reports from other countries. This means the latest accounts cannot be compared with those released in previous years.

More information is available from the Australian Government's website.