ABSTRACT
As part of the Paris Agreement, Australia intends to reduce total carbon emissions by 26%–28% by 2030 relative to 2005. This chapter assesses the potential contribution of the electricity sector towards Australia’s intended emission reductions. A carbon footprint assessment of different renewable energy options based on hybrid life-cycle assessment (LCA) is performed to estimate all economy-wide carbon emissions related to a changing energy mix in electricity generation. Results show that decarbonization efforts in the electricity sector alone are likely to be insufficient to reach Australia’s climate goals or to stay within the national carbon budget.
