Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions in Australia
Australia: Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions was 2.42 million tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions in Australia, 1751–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for year-on-year change in co₂ emissions in Australia is 2.42 million tonnes, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 916.8% on the previous year and up 146.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, year-on-year change in co₂ emissions in Australia peaked at 21.22 million tonnes in 1990 and was at its lowest, -16.38 million tonnes, in 2020.
Australia ranks 30th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1750s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 9 |
| 1760s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1770s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1780s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1790s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 10 |
| 1800s | 125.9 tonnes | -32 tonnes | 472 tonnes | 10 |
| 1810s | 228.1 tonnes | -698 tonnes | 1,652 tonnes | 10 |
| 1820s | 249.1 tonnes | -3,013 tonnes | 3,490 tonnes | 10 |
| 1830s | 2,746 tonnes | -4,327 tonnes | 9,818 tonnes | 10 |
| 1840s | 4,285 tonnes | -22,087 tonnes | 26,183 tonnes | 10 |
| 1850s | 40,861 tonnes | -5,673 tonnes | 144,465 tonnes | 10 |
| 1860s | 97,974 tonnes | -67,575 tonnes | 306,552 tonnes | 10 |
| 1870s | 111,319 tonnes | -62,293 tonnes | 293,939 tonnes | 10 |
| 1880s | 367,242 tonnes | -160,392 tonnes | 696,986 tonnes | 10 |
| 1890s | 244,631 tonnes | -799,445 tonnes | 1.43 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1900s | 588,354 tonnes | -2.21 million tonnes | 2.31 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1910s | 760,521 tonnes | -2.65 million tonnes | 3.13 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1920s | 472,073 tonnes | -2.52 million tonnes | 4.12 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.11 million tonnes | -3.35 million tonnes | 4.29 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.01 million tonnes | -2.64 million tonnes | 3.99 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1950s | 3.50 million tonnes | 3,080 tonnes | 7.57 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.33 million tonnes | -432,272 tonnes | 10.06 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.59 million tonnes | -3.96 million tonnes | 16.54 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.45 million tonnes | -10.36 million tonnes | 16.10 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.70 million tonnes | 1.38 million tonnes | 21.22 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.31 million tonnes | 2.70 million tonnes | 11.22 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 794,822 tonnes | -7.16 million tonnes | 9.08 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | -5.64 million tonnes | -16.38 million tonnes | 2.42 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More climate change data for Australia
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.4% (2100)
- Population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Population, total 27.61 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Urban population 24.22 million (2025)
- Urban population 87.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 20.04 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is year-on-year change in co₂ emissions in Australia?
- Year-on-year change in co₂ emissions in Australia was 2.42 million tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest year-on-year change in co₂ emissions recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.22 million tonnes in 1990.
- What is the lowest year-on-year change in co₂ emissions recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was -16.38 million tonnes in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for year-on-year change in co₂ emissions?
- Australia ranks 30th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is year-on-year change in co₂ emissions rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 146.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 274 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual growth in total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes.