Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall almost empty during lockdown.Credit:Justin McManus
At 494.2 million tonnes,the emissions in the year to March were the lowest since 1990,according to government figures that put the second-lowest figure at 508 million tonnes in 1995.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor will release the figures on Tuesday with a claim that emissions have fallen 20.8 per cent below the levels of 2005 in a trend that confirms the government can “meet and beat” its target for 2030 under pledges at the United Nations.
With other national leaders promising much deeper cuts,Prime Minister Scott Morrison is attempting to reach an agreement with Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to confirm the net zero target in time for a UN climate summit in Glasgow in November.
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While several Nationals MPs oppose the idea of more ambitious targets,the latest federal figures suggest emissions fell over the year to March as the economy recovered from last year’s recession.
The Quarterly Update of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows that emissions were 494.2 million tonnes in the year to March,which was 27.8 million tonnes or 5.3 per cent lower than in 2020. The figures have been released publicly since 2009 ona federal government website.
The government will use the figures to claim emissions were 3.2 per cent lower in the March quarter compared to the same period last year,even when the economy was 1.1 per cent larger over the same time.