CO₂ emissions by sector in Australia
Australia: CO₂ emissions by sector was 12.95 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
CO₂ emissions by sector in Australia, 1990–2023
Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Australia recorded 12.95 million tonnes for co₂ emissions by sector in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.1% on the previous year and down 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, co₂ emissions by sector in Australia peaked at 14.44 million tonnes in 2015 and was at its lowest, 8.63 million tonnes, in 1990.
Australia ranks 34th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.55 million tonnes | 8.63 million tonnes | 10.40 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.43 million tonnes | 10.57 million tonnes | 12.53 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.53 million tonnes | 12.68 million tonnes | 14.44 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.44 million tonnes | 12.95 million tonnes | 13.68 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 31 Egypt 15.94 million tonnes compare
- 32 South Africa 15.88 million tonnes compare
- 33 Ukraine 14.32 million tonnes compare
- 35 Bangladesh 10.08 million tonnes compare
- 36 Philippines 9.94 million tonnes compare
- 37 Azerbaijan 9.86 million tonnes compare
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 co₂ emissions by sector in Australia?
- Co₂ emissions by sector in Australia was 12.95 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest co₂ emissions by sector recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 14.44 million tonnes in 2015.
- What is the lowest co₂ emissions by sector recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.63 million tonnes in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for co₂ emissions by sector?
- Australia ranks 34th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is co₂ emissions by sector rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions by sector. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Emissions are measured in tonnes.