Tracking and reporting greenhouse gas emissions

As a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Paris Agreement, Australia has made commitments to:

reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
track progress towards those commitments
report each year on Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions

Australian National Greenhouse Accounts

Our department publishes a series of comprehensive reports and databases that estimate, and account for, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 onwards. Together these products comprise the National Greenhouse Accounts.

The Accounts:

fulfil Australia’s international greenhouse gas inventory reporting commitments
provide the official basis for tracking progress towards, and assessing compliance with, Australia’s emission reduction commitments
support the design, implementation and evaluation of domestic emission reduction policies
inform future emission reduction commitments.

See the National Greenhouse Accounts data in this interactive online database. You can query the data through a search function and create customised data tables and charts.

Australia’s National Inventory Reports

Australia fulfils its international greenhouse gas inventory reporting commitments by submitting annual National Inventory Reports to the UNFCCC.

For the financial year 2020-21 onwards, the first year of the Paris Agreement reporting period, emission estimates are compiled consistent with:

Modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, and Guidance for operationalizing the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the enhanced transparency framework referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (the Guidelines)
the IPCC 2019 Refinement of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines
the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement
country-specific methodologies consistent with the Guidelines and intended to improve emissions accuracy.

Australia mostly uses country-specific methodologies and emissions factors in compiling its National Inventory Reports. The methodologies used to estimate Australia’s inventory have been improved over time and will continue to be refined as new information emerges, and as international practice evolves.

View the National Inventory Reports

National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: Quarterly Updates

Quarterly Updates of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory are the most up to date source of information on Australia’s national emissions. They provide a summary of Australia’s national emissions, updated on a quarterly basis. They give timely information to policy makers, markets and the public to demonstrate how Australia is tracking against its targets.

View the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: Quarterly Updates

State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories

The State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide an overview of annual greenhouse gas emission estimates for each Australian state and territory. These inventories are a disaggregation of the data contained in the National Inventory Report submitted to the UNFCCC each year.

View the State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories

National Inventory by Economic Sector

The National Inventory by Economic Sector provides greenhouse gas emission estimates by economic sector (Australia-New Zealand Standard Industry Classifications (ANZSIC)) rather than by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sector. These inventories are a disaggregation of the data contained in the National Inventory Report submitted to the UNFCCC each year.

View the National Inventory by Economic Sector reports

Full Carbon Accounting Model

The Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is a calculation tool for modelling Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions from the land sector.

FullCAM is used in Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Accounts for land use, land use change and forestry sectors. Results from modelling are used to produce the annual totals for Australia’s National Inventory Reports. Emissions data (including from the land sector) can be found in Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts

View FullCAM

National Greenhouse Accounts Factors

The National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors provides methods to help companies and individuals estimate greenhouse gas emissions. The NGA Factors are not published for the purpose of supporting reporting under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007

View the National Greenhouse Accounts Factors

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme is a single national framework for reporting company greenhouse gas and energy production and consumption data. The reported greenhouse gas emissions data are an important input into the preparation of the National Greenhouse Accounts.

Read about the NGER scheme