Australia: Adjusted savings, carbon dioxide damage (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Australia's adjusted savings, carbon dioxide damage (current US$) rose 6.5% on 2020 (from US$15.91 billion to US$16.94 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +5.5% and a typical year strayed about 2.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.4% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$561.42 million a year. A straight line explains 98% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about US$18.23 billion for 2024. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2019 to 2021 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$513.28 million, against US$1.04 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2021, Australia had the 16th highest value of the 208 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Australia in the 2021 ranking

• Türkiye — 13th of 208: US$19.66 billion
• South Africa — 14th of 208: US$19.07 billion
• Mexico — 15th of 208: US$18.42 billion
• Viet Nam — 17th of 208: US$16.82 billion
• United Kingdom — 18th of 208: US$13.4 billion
• Italy — 19th of 208: US$13.15 billion

What this measures

Cost of damage due to carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use and the manufacture of cement, estimated to be US$40 per ton of CO2 (the unit damage in 2017 US dollars for CO2 emitted in 2020) times the number of tons of CO2 emitted. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

All 32 values

Adjusted savings, carbon dioxide damage (current US$) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — US$17.65 million (2021)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$315.56 million (2021)
• Cambodia — US$844.69 million (2021)
• China — US$482.5 billion (2021)
• Fiji — US$60.08 million (2021)
• French Polynesia — US$43.92 million (2021)
• Guam — US$82.6 million (2021)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$1.5 billion (2021)
• Indonesia — US$27.43 billion (2021)

More economic policy & debt data for Australia

• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$18.94 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$72.63 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$62.12 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$416.34 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 643.28 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$418.83 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 622.17 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 23.15% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Australia's adjusted savings, carbon dioxide damage (current US$)?

US$16.94 billion in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 430.3% from US$3.19 billion in 1990 (5.53% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$16.94 billion in 2021 and the lowest US$3.19 billion in 1990.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.ADJ.DCO2.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); The Changing Wealth of Nations: Measuring Sustainable Development in the New Millennium, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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