Greenhouse gas emissions: September 2023 quarter

Greenhouse gas emissions statistics include the emissions gas type for both industries and households, the emissions intensity (emissions in relation to GDP) for industries, and tourism-related emissions.

Key facts

Seasonally adjusted total emissions were up 3.0 percent, 563 kilotonnes (kt), in the September 2023 quarter.

• Electricity, gas, water, and waste services emissions increased 39.9 percent (549 kt). This was driven by an increase in the use of coal and natural gas in the September 2023 quarter.
• Transport, postal, and warehousing emissions increased 3.7 percent (60 kt).
• Services excluding transport, postal, and warehousing emissions increased by 2.2 percent (14 kt).
• Construction emissions increased 0.7 percent (3 kt).
• Manufacturing emissions decreased 0.7 percent (16 kt).
• Mining emissions decreased 5.8 percent (18 kt).
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing emissions decreased 0.4 percent (37 kt).
• Total household emissions decreased 5.2 percent (113 kt). Total household emissions were largely driven by household transport emissions, which were down 5.8 percent (113 kt). Household emissions from heating/cooling were up 0.9 percent (1 kt), and emissions from other household sources were down 2.5 percent (1 kt).

Industry and household greenhouse gas emissions by gas type

Note: Emissions from methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂-e). Seasonally adjusted emissions values are not additive and therefore do not sum to the total for all industries and households.

Between the June and September 2023 quarters, seasonally adjusted emissions (for all industries and households):

• increased for carbon dioxide by 6.6 percent (542 kt)
• decreased for methane by 0.2 percent (20 kt)
• decreased for nitrous oxide by 0.2 percent (5 kt)
• increased for fluorinated gases by 0.1 percent (0.2 kt).

Goods-producing industries such as manufacturing, construction, and electricity, gas, water, and waste services were the largest contributors to carbon dioxide and fluorinated gas emissions.

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions largely come from primary industries (such as agriculture and mining).

Emissions and GDP

In the September 2023 quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3 percent, while industry emissions, excluding households, rose 4.7 percent (765 kt).

The relationship between emissions and GDP over time depends on several factors, including the composition of the economy and the emissions intensities of industries.

Annual emissions – year to September 2023

Total annual emissions fell 1.1 percent (856 kt) over the year to September 2023 when compared with the year to September 2022.

Downwards drivers were:

• manufacturing (down 936 kt or 9.6 percent)
• electricity, gas, water, and waste services (down 667 kt or 9.9 percent)
• agriculture, forestry, and fishing (down 628 kt or 1.6 percent)
• services excluding transport, postal, and warehousing (down 176 kt or 6.3 percent)
• construction (down 24 kt or 1.2 percent).

Upwards drivers were:

• transport, postal, and warehousing (up 1,412 kt or 29 percent)
• households (up 158 kt or 1.9 percent)
• mining (up 5 kt or 0.4 percent)

Definitions and metadata

Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): September 2023 quarter – DataInfo+ gives information on the methodology underlying the data and outlines revisions made in this release.

Quarterly greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household) sources and methods presents the data sources and methods used for producing all the quarterly emissions accounts, including Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): September 2023 quarter.

Technical enquiries

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ISSN 2703-5263

Next release

Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): December 2023 quarter will be released on 11 April 2024.