SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Australia's greenhouse gas emissions rose 0.6 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, the government said on Tuesday, boosted by growth in pollution from transport, waste and an increase in black coal mining.
Total 2011 emissions, excluding land use, land use change and forestry, were 546.3 million tonnes, or about 24.3 tonnes per capita, among the highest in the developed world and higher than the United States. The 2011 rise comes after emissions increased 0.5 percent in 2010.
On Monday, the U.S. government said emissions rose 3.2 percent for 2010 from the previous year amid economic growth and higher electricity demand from high summer temperatures.
Carbon pollution from electricity generation comprises more than a third of Australia's total emissions because of the heavy use of black and brown coal in power stations. Coal generates about 80 percent of Australia's power versus about 45 percent in the United States.
Emissions from electricity, which have increased 50 percent since 1990 in Australia, dipped 0.9 percent in 2011 because of milder spring and summer weather and increased generation from renewable energy, government data shows.
Transport emissions, 16 percent of the nation's total, jumped 4.8 percent in 2011, driven by strong demand for aviation and diesel fuels.
Fugitive emissions, such as methane, rose 1 percent in 2011 mostly because of a 3.5 percent increase in emissions from black coal production. Australia is the world's top coal exporter.
The data comes ahead of the start of a national scheme that will impose a price on carbon emissions from about 500 of the country's top greenhouse gas polluters, from power generators, to refiners, airlines, steel mills and smelters.
The government says the scheme is crucial to put the brakes on the country's growing carbon emissions as the ${esc.dollar}1.4 trillion resource-driven economy enjoys an unprecedented boom.
While most analysts support a carbon price to help drive more investment in cleaner energy, some do not expect rapid changes in the country's energy mix.
"Coal will be king for many years to come," said Kevin Parton of the School of Management and Marketing at Charles Sturt University.
"Even with the carbon price regime ... there will be little incentive for generators to replace coal-fired power stations," he said in a statement. (Reporting by David Fogarty; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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