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Australia Sectors

What is Australiaʼs pathway to limit global warming to 1.5°C?

Direct CO₂ emissions in the Australian buildings sector have been rising steadily since 1990, with 2019 showing a rare small year-on-year decline.5 As of 2019, electricity holds a 60% share of the buildings sector energy mix while gas has a 26% share.

Australia has a high, and increasingly rapid, uptake of rooftop solar. Recent analysis shows that the country’s residential solar share of total power capacity is around 15%, making Australia a global leader in this regard.36 The number of small-scale rooftop solar systems in Australia exceeds 3 million, generating about 7% of Australia’s total power.37 Capacity additions of small-scale solar have grown by an average 39% year on year since 2016, while the average size of rooftop solar systems increased threefold over the past decade.38

Apart from how energy is supplied, reducing total energy demand from buildings should also play a role in emission reductions in the sector. Accordingly, the Australian government has recently updated the National Construction Code to increase the energy efficiency of new residential buildings. This is in line with an earlier plan to set a trajectory for net zero energy buildings.6,7

A 1.5°C compatible pathway would see electricity’s share of the buildings sector’s energy mix increase to 78-81% by 2030 and 92-94% by 2050. This would be in conjunction with an increasing share of renewables in power generation (81-88% by 2030, 100% by 2040). With increasing renewable-based electrification in the buildings sector, and the introduction of other renewable fuels (i.e., hydrogen), fossil gas’ role in the fuel mix would decline.

1 Australian Government. Australia’s Nationally Determined Contribution Communication 2022. 2022.

2 Australian Government. Australia’s Nationally Determined Contribution Communication 2021. 2021.

3 Australian Government. Australian Energy Update 2022. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 2022.

4 Reputex. The Economic Impact of the ALP’s Powering Australia Plan. 2021.

5 IEA. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy 2021 Edition. 2021.

6 Australian Government. National construction code (NCC) updates mean energy efficiency ratings expansion for new residences. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 2022.

7 Australian Government. Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings. Department of Climate Change, the Environment, Energy and Water. 2019.

8 Australian Government. Safeguard Mechanism reform: consultation paper. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 2022.

9 Australian Government. Australia’s Long-term Emissions Reduction Plan. 2021.

10 Parliament of Australia. Climate Change Bill 2022. 2022.

11 Climate Action Tracker. Australia. August 2022 update. Climate Action Tracker. 2022.

12 Australian Government. Australia’s emissions projections 2021. 2021.

13 AEMO. 2022 Integrated System Plan For the National Electricity Market. 2022.

14 Hurst, D. Australia could send extra gas to Europe as Russia cuts supplies due to Ukraine tensions. The Guardian. 2022.

15 Woodside. AGM Address by Chairman Richard Goyder and CEO Meg O’Neill. 2022.

16 AEMO. Gas Statement of Opportunities. 2022.

17 Australian Government. Legacy of ongoing Morrison Government fossil fuel handouts. 2022.

18 Morton, A. & Touma, R. Labor urged to axe $1.9bn in ‘zombie’ fossil fuel subsidies promised by the Coalition. The Guardian. 2022.

19 King, M. New offshore greenhouse gas storage acreage to help lower emissions. The Hon Madeleine King MP Media Releases. 2022.

20 King, M. Speech at the Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference, Adelaide. The Hon Madeleine King MP Media Releases. 2022.

21 Australian Government. Emissions Reduction Fund White Paper. 2014.

22 COAG Energy Council. National Energy Productivity Plan 2015-2030. 2015.

23 Australian Government. Renewable Energy Target. Clean Energy Regulator. 2022.

24 Parkinson, G. Australia officially met renewable target in January, despite big project delays. Renew Economy. 2021.

25 Climate Analytics. Submission to the Australian Government’s review of the Safeguard Mechanism. 2022.

26 Parra, P. Y., Hare, B., Hutfilter, U. F. & Roming, N. Evaluating the significance of Australia’s global fossil fuel carbon footprint. 2019.

27 Department of Industry Science Energy and Resources. Australian Energy Update 2020, Australian Energy Statistics. 2020.

28 Australian Government. Trade and Investment at a Glance. 2020.

29 Readfearn, G. Australian coal burnt overseas creates nearly twice the nation’s domestic emissions. The Gaurdian. 2021.

30 Wood, T., Dundas, G. & Ha., J. Start with steel. 2020.

31 Marshall, L. Building a clean hydrogen industry for Australia. CSIRO. 2021.

32 Climate Action Tracker. Australia. CAT Scaling Up Climate Action series. Climate Action Tracker. 2020.

33 Climate Analytics. FACTSHEET 4: Australia’s Industry Inefficient and standing still. 2018.

34 Reputex. The Economic Impact of the ALP’s Powering Australia Plan. 2021.

35 Macintosh, A. et al. The ERF’s Human-induced Regeneration (HIR): What the Beare and Chambers Report Really Found and a Critique of its Method. 2022.

36 Randall, T. Clean Energy Has a Tipping Point, and 87 Countries Have Reached It. Bloomberg Green. 2022.

37 Australian Government. Australia reaches the 3 million solar milestone. Clean Energy Regulator. 2021.

38 Clean Energy Council. Clean Energy Australia Report. 2022.

39 Lewis, J. Chevron’s flagship Gorgon CCS project still failing to live up to expectations. Upstream. 2022.

40 Readfearn, G. Gas giant Chevron falls further behind on carbon capture targets for Gorgon gasfield. The Guardian. 2022.

41 Smit, R., Dia, H. & Surawski, N. The road to new fuel efficiency rules is filled with potholes. Here’s how Australia can avoid them. The Conversation. 2022.

42 The Centre for International Economics. What existing economic studies say about Australia’s cost of abatement. 2019.

43 Climate Change Authority. Light Vehicle Emissions Standards for Australia. 2014.

44 The Centre for International Economics. What existing economic studies say about Australia’s cost of abatement. 2019.

45 Australian Government. Budget October 2022-23: Budget Measures Budget Paper No . 2. (2022).

46 Australian Government. National Electric Vehicle Strategy: consultation paper. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 2022.

47 We have derived the excl. LULUCF target from 2005 emissions level in the government’s Paris Agreement inventory and 2030 LULUCF projections in the Government projections published in 2022 of -33 MtCO₂e. Both these sources use global warming potentials (GWP) from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). As the 1.5°C national pathway explorer uses GWPs from the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), we have converted the government’s emissions data to AR4 using an average conversion factor of 0.98 (AR4=0.98*AR5). For reference, the AR5 GWP weighted 2030 emissions based on for reference, the AR5 GWP numbers based on the most recent inventory the most recent inventory is 388 MtCO₂e/yr excluding LULUCF in 2030.

48 Based on Government LULUCF projections which use AR5 GWP (-16 MtCO₂e/yr in 2030). Here we have applied the government LULUCF projections growth rates to the latest LULUCF historical data in the Paris Agreement Inventory, and estimate a LULUCF sink of -26 MtCO₂e/yr by 2030 using AR4 GWP. Historic LULUCF emissions for 2005 have also been converted to AR4.

49 The 2022 projections including LULUCF for 2030 are for about a 32% reduction, 11% short of the Governments 43% target.

50 For a critique of the effectiveness of this mechanism, see Climate Action Tracker’s analysis of Australia’s current policies. For discussion of the associated Safeguard Mechanism, see Submission on Safeguard Mechanism reform.

51 This is consistent with the Climate Targets Panel in Australia “fair share” reductions for Australia in 2030 of 74% from 2005 emission levels including LULUCF based on earlier Climate Change Authority work. The overall fair share contribution includes domestic emissions reductions and substantial support for emission reductions in developing countries on top of its domestic reductions.

Australiaʼs energy mix in the buildings sector

petajoule per year

Scaling
SSP1 Low CDR reliance
20192030204020501 0001 500
SSP1 High CDR reliance
20192030204020501 0001 500
Low energy demand
20192030204020501 0001 500
High energy demand - Low CDR reliance
20192030204020501 0001 500
  • Natural gas
  • Coal
  • Oil and e-fuels
  • Biofuel
  • Biogas
  • Biomass
  • Hydrogen
  • Electricity
  • Heat

Australiaʼs buildings sector direct CO₂ emissions (of energy demand)

MtCO₂/yr

Unit
5101519902010203020502070
  • Historical emissions
  • SSP1 High CDR reliance
  • SSP1 Low CDR reliance
  • High energy demand - Low CDR reliance
  • Low energy demand

1.5°C compatible buildings sector benchmarks

Direct CO₂ emissions and shares of electricity, heat and biomass in the buildings final energy demand from illustrative 1.5°C pathways for Australia

Indicator
2019
2030
2040
2050
Decarbonised buildings sector by
Direct CO₂ emissions
MtCO₂/yr
15
5 to 12
2 to 7
1 to 2
2033 to 2040
Relative to reference year in %
−67 to −20%
−85 to −55%
−95 to −83%
Indicator
2019
2030
2040
2050
Share of electricity
Percent
60
78 to 81
89
92 to 94
Share of heat
Percent
2
0 to 2
0 to 3
3 to 4
Share of hydrogen
Percent
0
0 to 4
0 to 12
0 to 16

Footnotes