Australian Carbon Emissions Up 82% Since 1990 - Kyoto Protocol Limits Are 8% - Age

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AUSTRALIA's annual greenhouse gas emissions have soared by more than four-fifths since 1990 - far exceeding the 8 per cent permitted by the Kyoto Protocol.

The revelation comes as developed countries - led by Australia, Canada and the United States - are being accused by the Greens and other environmentalists of "cooking the books" on their emissions in a row that threatens to disrupt the Copenhagen climate talks. The row is creating major divisions between developed and developing nations over how emissions from agriculture, grasslands and forestry will be counted in any new climate deal.

The 82 per cent rise in emissions is due to a blow-out of 657 per cent in emissions from land use between 1990 and 2007. Australia told the UN of it earlier this year but did not publicise it. There is wild natural variation in land-use emissions - for example, there was a massive spike in 2002-03 from Victorian bushfires - and so Australia joined others in not counting most land categories towards its Kyoto target for 2012.

Under a new Copenhagen deal, it wants to be able to count ''carbon sinks'' in agricultural land but exclude the impact of extraordinary events or circumstances such as bushfires and drought. Environmentalists say it is hard to measure land-use emissions, opening up the possibility of "accounting frauds". Miguel Lovera, chief negotiator for Paraguay, a member of the G77 bloc of developing countries, said the industrialised nations' position on land emissions was ''suicidal''. ''With that kind of measure we are never going to make sensible action on climate change,'' he said.

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http://www.theage.com.au/environment/carbon-emissions-soar-20091213-kqi2.html

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1. well it's kind of hard to blame them for co2 released during wild fires.