CO₂ emissions from transport in Australia

Australia: CO₂ emissions from transport was 96.69 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
96.69 million tonnes
Change on year
up 8.4%
World rank
18th
of 191 countries
All-time high
97.27 million tonnes
in 2018
All-time low
60.59 million tonnes
in 1991
Years of data
34
1990–2023

CO₂ emissions from transport in Australia, 1990–2023

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M1990200620231990: 62.0M tonnes1991: 60.6M tonnes1992: 62.1M tonnes1993: 63.2M tonnes1994: 64.8M tonnes1995: 67.5M tonnes1996: 70.0M tonnes1997: 71.4M tonnes1998: 71.4M tonnes1999: 72.8M tonnes2000: 75.0M tonnes2001: 74.4M tonnes2002: 76.1M tonnes2003: 76.4M tonnes2004: 79.2M tonnes2005: 79.3M tonnes2006: 81.2M tonnes2007: 83.6M tonnes2008: 85.3M tonnes2009: 84.9M tonnes2010: 87.6M tonnes2011: 89.8M tonnes2012: 90.4M tonnes2013: 91.8M tonnes2014: 92.0M tonnes2015: 91.9M tonnes2016: 93.3M tonnes2017: 94.9M tonnes2018: 97.3M tonnes2019: 97.0M tonnes2020: 90.5M tonnes2021: 87.5M tonnes2022: 89.2M tonnes2023: 96.7M tonnes

Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Australia recorded 96.69 million tonnes for co₂ emissions from transport in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.4% on the previous year and up 5.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, co₂ emissions from transport in Australia peaked at 97.27 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 60.59 million tonnes, in 1991.

That places Australia 18th out of 191 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 66.58 million tonnes 60.59 million tonnes 72.77 million tonnes 10
2000s 79.56 million tonnes 74.42 million tonnes 85.30 million tonnes 10
2010s 92.61 million tonnes 87.63 million tonnes 97.27 million tonnes 10
2020s 90.98 million tonnes 87.53 million tonnes 96.69 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 15 South Korea 105.46 million tonnes compare
  2. 16 Italy 104.78 million tonnes compare
  3. 17 Turkey 97.22 million tonnes compare
  4. 19 Spain 90.14 million tonnes compare
  5. 20 Thailand 81.20 million tonnes compare
  6. 21 Egypt 69.16 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More climate change data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is co₂ emissions from transport in Australia?
Co₂ emissions from transport in Australia was 96.69 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 97.27 million tonnes in 2018.
What is the lowest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 60.59 million tonnes in 1991.
How does Australia rank for co₂ emissions from transport?
Australia ranks 18th out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
Is co₂ emissions from transport rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 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 from transport. 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

Indicator
CO₂ emissions from transport
Unit
tonnes
Source
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
191 places, 6,476 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Emissions are measured in tonnes.