The increasing emissions intensity of Australia’s primary energy supply is largely due to its increasing reliance on coal for electricity generation, at a time when other developed countries have shifted significantly to lower-emissions sources.
Figure 7.8 shows primary energy consumption in Australia by sector. The electricity generation, transport and manufacturing sectors account for nearly 90 per cent of primary energy consumption. Coal comprises about 79 per cent of primary energy supply in the electricity generation sector. The transport sector is dominated by oil, which contributes more than 97 per cent of primary energy consumed. In the manufacturing sector primary energy supply is composed of coal (27 per cent), oil (32 per cent), natural gas (34 per cent) and biomass (7 per cent).