Oz emissions fall in 2011

The increasing use of renewable energy has helped drive a 1 percent fall in Australian’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2011, according to a report compiled by the Department of Climate Change.
The 2011 result was reported in the quarterly update of Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, showed that emissions from the generation of electrity – the single largest factor influencing emissions – fell by 36 percent over 2011 partly due to increased hydro electric genration in Tasmania and the Snowy Mountains. At the same time, the Queensland floods led to a reduction in emissions from coal mines, while higher electricity prices prompted falling demand.
The figures show that 2011 was the second year in a row that emissions have fallen although the result is considered more significant because the economy grew last year, while it contracted in 2010 in the fallout from the global financial crisis.
The report is consistent with a 10 year trend showing generating capacity growing at a faster rate than emissions, in line with the uptake of cleaner energy solutions.