Greenhouse gas emissions – Australia 2003 (a)

The National Greenhouse Gas Inventory is based on international guidelines. It provides estimates of emissions used in calculating climate change and for meeting the Kyoto emissions target. The major gases covered by the inventory are:

• Carbon dioxide (73.6% of total greenhouse gases)
• Methane (19.7% of total greenhouse gases)
• Nitrous oxide, Perfluorcarbons, Hydrofluorocarbons, Sulphur hexafluoride (6.7% of total greenhouse gases).

The main sources of greenhouse gases in Australia are:

• Stationary energy (e.g. from combustion of fuels to provide electricity or heating)
• Transport (combustion of fuel in vehicles)
• Fugitive emissions (released during production, processing, transmission and storage of coal, oil and natural gas)
• Industrial processes (emissions from industry)
• Agriculture (emissions from livestock, fertilizers and burning)
• Land use (deforestation, burning, decomposition of cleared vegetation
• Waste (emissions from landfill and waste water treatment facilities)
  

Transport emissions (c)

Transport accounted for 15% of net national emissions in 2003. The transport sector includes;

• Road (passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and motorcycles)
• Domestic Air transport (commercial and passenger aircraft using aviation gasoline or jet kerosene)
• Coastal shipping (domestic only)
• Rail (not electric)
  

Government strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions

The Government has committed $1.7 billion to combating climate change, including strategies to reduce transport greenhouse emissions. (d)

• An Alternative Fuel Conversion Program, which provides grants to purchase or convert commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes to use LPG or compressed natural gas.
• Mandatory fuel consumption labels on all new cars, showing litres/100km and grams of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometre.
• National fuel consumption/carbon emission targets for new vehicles.
• An environmental target for the Australian Government vehicle fleet.
• The Green Vehicles Guide (August 2004), which provides information on fuel consumption, environmental performance and greenhouse emissions of motor vehicles.

City of Onkaparinga strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions

• All 14 waste trucks run on fuel consisting of 20% canola and used cooking oil. Council intends to increase this ratio to 50% in 2006.
• 23% of the Council’s cars currently run on LPG. There are 2 hybrid fleet cars and, by December 2005, ten 6 cylinder cars had been replaced with 4 cylinders.
• Air and water at the Noarlunga Aquatic Centre are heated using a highly efficient, gas-powered energy system known as cogeneration. The system is expected to save 1,540 tonnes of greenhouse emissions annually.
• 20 solar lights have been installed in parks, and traffic signals are being converted to LED lanterns to reduce energy use by up to 80%.