The NSW Government aims to achieve a 50% reduction in NSW emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020-2030, released in March 2020, is the foundation for NSW Government’s action on climate change over the next decade.

The plan aims to strengthen the prosperity and quality of life for the people of NSW and has four key priorities.

Priority 1: Drive the uptake of proven emissions reduction technologies

Priority 2: Empower consumers and businesses to make sustainable choices

Priority 3: Invest in the next wave of emissions reduction innovation

Priority 4: Ensure the NSW Government leads by example

The Net Zero Plan delivers on the objectives of the NSW Climate Change Policy Framework, which sets out the long-term policy directions for action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This includes the long-term objectives of NSW being more resilient to a changing climate and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Robust data on greenhouse gas emissions helps inform the NSW Government’s net zero policies and supports the tracking of NSW’s progress towards achieving a 50% reduction in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

The Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water maintains national, state and territory greenhouse gas emission inventories for past years. The NSW Greenhouse Gas Inventory is updated annually and published as part of the National Greenhouse Accounts following the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting rules.

Emissions are inventoried and published by IPCC sector, as classified within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories[1], and by Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) economic sector. Emissions are published by the Commonwealth Government on a state-aggregated basis.

A description of the status and past trends in NSW emissions are reported in the NSW State of the Environment Report and on AdaptNSW.

The Net Zero Emissions Dashboard displays emissions data from the NSW Greenhouse Gas Inventory by IPCC and economic sector by year for 1990 to 2020. Years shown are financial year, and so cover the 12 months ending 30 June of that year.

This display contains the latest Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for 1990 to 2020.

Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions generated from sources located within state boundaries.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of electricity purchased in the state, including emissions from electricity generation within and outside of NSW.

Greenhouse gas emission estimates are expressed as the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e) using the 100-year global warming potentials in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report[2], consistent with the Australian Government’s National Inventory Reporting. 

Details of inventory methods are published with the National Greenhouse Accounts.

Data for the NSW Greenhouse Gas Inventory are available as part of the States and Territories Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

[1] IPCC 2019,  2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/2019-refinement-to-the-2006-ipcc-guidelines-for-national-greenhouse-gas-inventories/  Calvo Buendia E. Tanabe K, Kranjc A, Baasansuren J, Fukuda M, Ngarize S, Osako A, Pyrozhenko Y, Shermanau P and Federici A (eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1]

[2] IPCC 2013, Climate Change 2013: The physical science basis – contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G, Tignor MMB, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V & Midgley P (eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1]