Australia loves to recycle, but carbon a problem

James Grubel, Reuters 7 Feb 08;

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australians have become a nation of waste recyclers and water misers but continue to be among the world's highest per-person carbon emitters, a snapshot of the country found on Thursday.

The worst drought in a century and concerns over global warming have prompted Australians to change their habits on recycling and water use, with 99 percent of homes recycling waste paper, plastic and glass, up from 91 percent a decade earlier.

But Australia, which signed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change last December, continues to rely on coal for electricity, and fossil fuel for transport, making Australians high per person emitters of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

"While Australia only accounts for around 1.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, its carbon dioxide emissions per person are relatively high," the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in its 2008 Year Book, released on Thursday.

It said 17.5 tonnes of carbon gas were emitted for every Australian, compared to an average 11.1 tonnes per person in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Australia has been set a target of limiting greenhouse gas emissions to 108 percent of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The government has consistently said the country is largely on track to meet the target.

The Year Book said in 2005, carbon emissions from the energy sector, which accounts for about 70 percent of the nation's emissions, had increased by 36 percent on 1990 levels, while industrial processing emissions had increased 16.6 percent.

But emissions had fallen 7 percent in the waste sector, and by about 75 percent in the land-use and forestry sector, due to the growth in carbon sinks and forests.

The Book found despite the growth in recycling, the amount of waste was growing, with about 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) of waste for each of Australia's 21 million people, up 32 percent since 1997.

But, Australians recycle eight times more waste than in 1997.

Much of the country remains in drought and water restrictions are in place in most cities, increasing awareness of water shortages and leading to an eight percent drop in household water use over the first four years of drought to mid-2005.

(Editing by Katie Nguyen)