Australia emissions set to rise 50 per cent over 1990 levels by 2020

Australia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are set to rise by more than 50 per cent over 1990 levels by 2020, according to new research.

Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an independent programme that analyses the carbon emissions commitments and actions of countries around the world, says Australia’s present emission levels are about 31 per cent higher than in 1990 and are continuing to rise.

The CAT analysis reports that: “In terms of emission effort, Australia will be going in the opposite direction to China and the US, who are putting effort into reducing emissions.”

The research says that Australia has made considerable efforts to alter the way its emissions are calculated under the terms of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

Australia has insisted on including reductions in emissions from land use and forestry in its calculations and as a result, it has sought more allowances for emissions from its industrial − mainly mining − sector.

According to the research, the data supplied by the Australian government on apparent land and forestry emissions reduction lacks transparency.

The research says: “This is just the most recent example, of Australia lobbying for rules that undermine the integrity of the emissions accounting system as a whole and the rules that carve out special exceptions to the detriment of all, but to the benefit of a few.”

At the 2009 Copenhagen summit on climate change, Australia pledged that it would cut its emissions by 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.

Australia was recently named as the worst performing industrial country on the issue of climate change in a report by the Germanwatch think tank.

Since assuming to power in 2013, the conservative coalition government led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott (pictured), has got rid of the clean energy bill and promoted the country’s iron ore and coal mining sectors.