Australia Fossil-Fuel CO₂ Emissions

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Trends

Total fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions for Australia grew steadily from 1900-1998 at an annual rate of 3.6%. From 1998-2003, emissions declined slightly but now total 109 million metric tons of carbon in 2008, after an abrupt 5.2% increase from 2004 to 2005. Australia is the world's fourth largest coal producer and the world's largest exporter of coal. Coal is the dominant fuel source in Australia's energy economy and CO₂ emissions from coal consumption account for 57% of the 2008 emission total. Sharp increases in natural gas consumption have occurred since 1969 and now account for 14.8% of Australia's fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions.