Fact checking Morrison’s claim OZ leads NZ in emissions reduction

Scott Morrison was being interviewed on the Today show when he was asked about his progress on climate change.

Morrison conceded Australia is becoming a harder country to live in due to rising temperatures, and more unpredictable weather patterns.

However, he was quick to point out his government’s track record on greenhouse gas emissions.

“I said, we need to get emissions down, and we’ve got it down by more than 20%” he said.

“Canada can’t say that. New Zealand can’t say that. United States can’t say that. Japan can’t say that, but we can.”

At first glance, yes.

According to Australia’s Department of Energy, net emissions have dropped by around 20 percent since 2005.

According to Statistics New Zealand, the latest data (2019) shows New Zealand’s net emissions have only slightly reduced since 2005.

In 2019 our net greenhouse gas emissions were 57.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, 4% lower than 2005 levels.

However, when you look at the data closely, there’s more to the story.

Mr Morrison’s government has regularly used 2005 as the baseline for measuring net emissions, because until that year there were significant land clearing efforts happening around Australia.

When trees were chopped down, that was measured as additional carbon put into the atmosphere:

According to the Australia Institute, if you take a look at Australia’s overall emissions picture, and you exclude historical changes to the land sector, the 2017-19 drought, and the pandemic, Australia’s emissions are actually rising.