Greenhouse Gases Emissions in Australia

Control of Greenhouse Gases Emissions in Australia to Meet the Paris Agreement
Target
STUDENT NAME
Student ID
2018
1

2

Table of Contents
Greenhouse gases emissions in Australia..................................................................................4
Strategies to control greenhouse gases emissions in Australia................................................11
Industry specific strategies...................................................................................................13
Attaining zero emissions by 2050........................................................................................14
Reduced carbon credits............................................................................................................21
Available technologies used in the control of greenhouse gas emissions................................23
Proposed strategies to control greenhouse gases emissions in Australia.................................24
How Australia meets its greenhouse gases emission reduction target?...............................27
Benchmarking of Australia’s emission reduction with other countries...................................28
Conclusion................................................................................................................................31
References................................................................................................................................33
3

Introduction
The 2015 Paris climate change conference (COP21) tabled an international bill under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Paris
Agreement on greenhouse gas emissions is a charter targeting changes in the global response
to climate change (European Union Policies 2016). Its terms include channelling efforts
towards the maintenance of global temperature limits of below 2°C above the pre-industrial
levels. The aim of this is to reduce the risks of climate change mainly global warming. The
seriousness of climate change pushes stakeholders to work towards an even lower
temperature target of below 1.5 °C. Country specific targets vary across the stipulated
standard limits. For example, Australia targets temperature reduction of 26-28% by 2030. In
order to do this, it invests in policies across different industries and government plans. The
Paris agreement unites governments for a common environmental cause. It highlights the role
of cities, local authorities, individuals and the private sector. This report looks at the current
greenhouse emissions activities in Australia. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the
agreement, its impact and future implications. The aim of this report is discuss the
greenhouse gas policies with reference to Australia’s efforts and strategic implementation
over the years.
Greenhouse gases emissions in Australia
In 2015 Australia stood among the highest per capita polluters globally (The Climate Institute
2015). This was a cause for worry because it lowered the countrys’ credibility and
commitment against climate change factors. Despite the fact that the country started making
changes as early as 1995 Australia featured amoung countries with immense Greenhouse
effects (Taylor 2014). This was a serious warning because the greenhouse effect represents an
4

increase in extreme heat, unusual thunderstorms, and torrential rainfall. This came with signs
of severe weather changes that turned catastrophic. In the end it led to climate change which
raises concerns about the sustainability of natural resources. The uncertainity of global
change makes it a multidisciplinary research issue of concern for scientists, policy makers
and institutions. Scientists delve into research in an attempt to discover the scientific risks
involved in the climate change effects. The reality of public risks led to solutions and the
quest for policies that provide scientific solutions. According to the World Energy Council,
extreme weather events experienced in 1994-2015 came with a series of destructive events in
the swampy coalmines of Australia, which destroyed high transmission cables (World Energy
Council 2015). The destructive weather condition reveal unusual, irregular, and prolonged
seasons.
Today Australia still stands among nations with high carbon dioxide emissions as shown in
the table below. With a 15.81 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita emission, Australia has a
high metric ton per capita compared to its proposed projections of zero carbon emission
(Slezak 2018). In order to deal with this high rating, the country engages policies at
individual levels. However, it takes effective strategies to decarbonize sectors such as the
energy industry. Australia’s carbon intense sectors include the energy, transport and
agricultural industries. Cumulative emissions from the past come from different sectors,
affects national and regional climate making it difficult to control. The adverse weather
effects reflect in the economic, environmental, social and health sectors.
5

Figure 1: Australia position among nations with high carbon emissions (Business insider 2017)
Research into the greenhouse gas emissions unveils the reality of carbon release from the
energy sector, industrial processes, wastes, land use and other areas. The figure below shows
its release including gases like Nitrogen Oxide from nitrogen gases (Eckard 2018). The
World Economic Forum discusses Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from humans as the
main contributors to global warming effects (Caro 2014).Like other nations, Australia also
suffers from human causes of global warming. The impact of carbon emissions from per
person on average is on the increase hence the need for solutions to tackle specific areas of
concern.
6

Figure 2: The nitrogen release process from the soil and cattle (Eckard 2018)
This explains why the government approves intervention policies such as the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These have guidelines for reduced
emissions at a regional level. Australia has a 2030 target to lower carbon emissions by 26-
28% compared to the 2005 levels (Jotzo 2018). This is below the expected Paris Agreement
and trends indicate that Australia still faces a challenge of arriving at this gap because of
increased emissions from new areas such as fugitive emissions. It includes the production
systems, processing, and transport and, transmission a well as fossil fuels (Slezak 2018). The
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) reveals a 1% increase in the use of renewable
energy, which gives land use an edge in the rising rate of emissions.
The Climate Institute (2015) highlights the critical elements of the Paris Agreement as
follows:
 To keep global warming to temperatures below 2°C above the preindustrial levels and
pursue a 1.5° C
7

 Create a universal, durable global recognition
 Carry out reviews after every five years leading to zero emissions
 Provide guidelines for transparency and accountability within the progressive four
years
 Offer support for third world nations
Australia borrows from these strategies by adopting a zero emissions net target as the
ultimate goal in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions. A comparative analysis of the
country’s industrial and natural factors of pollution reveals a high per capita rate of pollution.
As a result, the government creates strategies to control the greenhouse effects (Jotzo 2018).
The image below shows temperature anomalies from the global surface. This reflects on
Australia and New Zealand, which continue to encounter seasonal fluctuations in sea surface
temperatures (SST) in key ocean areas like Auckland, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and
Queensland.
The table below shows the current SST temperatures for the major locations in Australia
followed by a table showing Australia’s position among the lowest global polluters. The
transmission of the solar radiation into the earth surface and its absorption by the greenhouse
8