The Clean Energy Regulator has today released the 2015–16 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting data.
During the 2015–16 year, corporations reported a total of 334 million tonnes of scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions generated as a direct result of activity, or series of activities, conducted by reporting corporations.
“Reported scope 1 emissions have increased by 2.2 per cent, compared to 2014–15 data, adjusted to reflect updated global warming potential values, and to allow comparison between years,” said Chloe Munro, Chair of the Clean Energy Regulator.
“The increase in scope 1 emissions is a direct result of increased electricity generation and higher levels of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.”
“Not surprisingly, emissions as a result of electricity production across the country also remain high,” Ms Munro said.
The dataset also reports 90 million tonnes of scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions from indirect activities, such as the consumption of electricity for manufacturing.
Corporations also report net energy consumed, which includes initial extraction, own-use of energy, and the transformation of energy occurring within and between facilities. In 2015–16, 3956 petajoules of net energy were reported to have been consumed.
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme captures about 60 per cent of Australia’s overall emissions. It does not include emissions data from the agriculture, land use, land use change, forestry, private vehicle, and residential sectors or facilities that do not meet the reporting threshold.
“This is where our data differ from other datasets published by the government, such as the National Greenhouse Accounts, which provide a more holistic overview of emissions in Australia,” said Ms Munro.
“Our data are invaluable in helping understand the composition and transition of greenhouse gas emissions, electricity production and energy use from large-scale industrial corporations across Australia.”
Note for journalists
Information published as part of the 2015–16 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting dataset cannot be directly compared to publications from previous years for a number of reasons, including the introduction of updated global warming potential values in 2015–16, which affect the carbon dioxide equivalence of greenhouse gases. The global warming potential value for methane, in particular, increased from 21 to 25.
For the purpose of comparing data between years, the Clean Energy Regulator has applied the updated global warming potentials to previous years. This shows that emissions have increased by 2.2 per cent in real terms between 2014–15 and 2015–16.
A direct comparison of 2015–16 data to unadjusted 2014–15 data would give the incorrect impression that reported scope 1 emissions have increased by 3.7 per cent. The true increase for this time period is 2.2 per cent—based on data using the updated global warming potential values that applied in 2015–16.
For more information, see the global warming potential value change.
Additional resources
About the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme requires Australian corporations that meet certain thresholds to report their emissions and energy information to the Clean Energy Regulator each year. This data provides key information to help inform government policy and programs, and meet our international reporting obligations.
As required under legislation, data released today for 2015–16 provides scope 1 emissions, scope 2 emissions and net energy consumption for Australia’s top corporations, Greenpower and renewable energy certificates, and designated generation facility information.
For more information, see the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme.