Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in Australia
Australia: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector was 214.60 million tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling
Greenhouse gas 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 214.60 million tonnes for greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 2023.
That represents a change of up 62.3% on the previous year and up 51.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions by sector in Australia peaked at 233.08 million tonnes in 2001 and was at its lowest, 108.89 million tonnes, in 2020.
That places Australia 6th out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 172.88 million tonnes | 159.64 million tonnes | 197.49 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 175.90 million tonnes | 135.77 million tonnes | 233.08 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 160.34 million tonnes | 118.76 million tonnes | 221.32 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 145.96 million tonnes | 108.89 million tonnes | 214.60 million tonnes | 4 |
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 greenhouse gas emissions by sector in Australia?
- Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in Australia was 214.60 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions by sector recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 233.08 million tonnes in 2001.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions by sector recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 108.89 million tonnes in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for greenhouse gas emissions by sector?
- Australia ranks 6th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions by sector rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Greenhouse gas 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 of carbon dioxide-equivalents.