Annual CO₂ emissions from aviation in Australia
Australia: Annual CO₂ emissions from aviation was 20.28 million tonnes in 2024. ▼ Falling
Annual CO₂ emissions from aviation in Australia, 2013–2024
Source: OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Australia recorded 20.28 million tonnes for annual co₂ emissions from aviation in 2024.
That represents a change of up 10.3% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual co₂ emissions from aviation in Australia peaked at 22.48 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 7.90 million tonnes, in 2021.
Australia ranks 11th of 143 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Annual CO₂ emissions from aviation in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 19.10 million tonnes | — |
| 2014 | 19.38 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 19.54 million tonnes | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 20.88 million tonnes | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 21.77 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 22.48 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 22.08 million tonnes | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 9.22 million tonnes | -58.2% |
| 2021 | 7.90 million tonnes | -14.3% |
| 2022 | 13.85 million tonnes | +75.2% |
| 2023 | 18.39 million tonnes | +32.8% |
| 2024 | 20.28 million tonnes | +10.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 20.28 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.71 million tonnes, 7.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Australia's 20.28 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.23 million tonnes, 9.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 20.75 million tonnes | 19.10 million tonnes | 22.48 million tonnes | 7 |
| 2020s | 13.93 million tonnes | 7.90 million tonnes | 20.28 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More climate change data for Australia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 1.30 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 118,578 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 34,162 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 84,416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 128.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3,015 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,473 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 10,966 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,507 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 41.38 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual co₂ emissions from aviation in Australia?
- Annual co₂ emissions from aviation in Australia was 20.28 million tonnes in 2024, according to OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual co₂ emissions from aviation recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.48 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest annual co₂ emissions from aviation recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.90 million tonnes in 2021.
- How does Australia rank for annual co₂ emissions from aviation?
- Australia ranks 11th out of 143 countries with data for 2024.
- Is annual co₂ emissions from aviation rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual CO₂ emissions from aviation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Includes emissions from both domestic and international aviation. International aviation emissions are assigned to the country of departure. CO₂ emissions from commercial passenger flights only.