Coal is Australia's largest hydrocarbon export earner, followed by crude oil and LNG. Hydrocarbon exports accounted for 18 percent of total export revenues in the June 2007-June 2008 period.Australia has significant petroleum, natural gas and coal reserves and is one of the few countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that is a significant net hydrocarbon exporter, exporting about two-thirds of its total energy production.
Australia is the world's largest coal exporter and the fifth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2007, after Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Algeria. Australia's prospects for expanding these energy exports in the future are promising as Asian demand for both coal and LNG is rising.
While Australia also exports crude oil and refined petroleum products, it is a net importer of oil. (EIA)
After reports state that Australia has overtaken the US as biggest polluter...Austalia's contribution to global carbon emissions are overall low but the 'hidden' carbon emissions they export may be one of the worlds largest carbon sources.
"Australia has about five times the per capita emissions of China for instance but China produces over 20 times the carbon emissions of Australia because China has such a huge population," University of Adelaide professor Barry Brook told public broadcaster ABC.
"We are only a nation of 20-odd million people, if any country is going to do anything about climate change for the world it has got to be places like the U.S., Europe and China," said Craig James, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "We can do a small part here in Australia, we can pull our weight and provide the contribution, but really when it comes to climate change, this is a global thing."
"So you can play around with these numbers all you want but ultimately what matters is the total global carbon budget," he said.
"And unless humanity as a whole can find solutions to that problem, then all of that petty bickering amongst nations about who's more or less responsible isn't really going to be very helpful."
The report was released ahead of a major UN summit in Copenhagen in December aiming to thrash out a new climate change treaty.
Australia, whose vast size and isolation make for high transport costs for goods and people, has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent by 2020 compared to 2000 levels.
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* Image source EIA
