How much coal does Australia export?
Australia and Indonesia are the world’s largest exporters of coal. In 2020, Australia exported 390 million tonnes of coal. When burned, coal exported from Australia is responsible for 1 billion tonnes of carbon pollution annually.
Export coal is Australia’s single biggest contribution to the global climate crisis. The greenhouse gas emissions from coal that is mined in Australia and burned overseas are nearly double Australia’s domestic emissions from other sources, including transport, electricity generation, and agriculture.
In 2019, Australia exported the highest volume of coal in history at 580 million tonnes. In 2030, the Australian government projects that we will export just one tonne less – 579 million tonnes. This would fly in the face of global efforts to phase out coal in OECD countries by 2030.
