The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has released the National Greenhouse Accounts for the latest emission trends for the December Quarter 2011.

 

The accounts factor in the Kyoto Target and are used to meet the country’s reporting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and track progress against the country’s target under the Protocol.

 

The accounts found emissions increased in the December Quarter, with trend emissions rising by 0.3 per cent and seasonally adjusted and weather normalized emissions increasing 0.1 per cent.

 

The reort found that trend increases were  largely driven by increases in emissions from fugitive emissions as a result of increased coal mining.

 

However, the coal emissions were offset by a decrease in emissions from the electricity and industrial processes sectors.

 

Annual emissions, excluding LULUCF, for the year to December 2011 are estimated to be 546.3 Mt CO2–e. This represents an increase of 0.6 per cent compared to the year to December 2010 despite a drop in emissions from electricity generation (the single largest source of emissions in the national inventory).

 

The full report can be found here