Australia's booming coal industry has made it the world's third-biggest exporter of potential carbon dioxide emissions locked in fossil fuels, placing it only behind oil giants Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Australia makes up 7 percent of all global fossil fuel exports by carbon dioxide potential, as it accounts for almost one-third of the world coal trade, according to a report Monday from The Australia Institute, which has been critical of the federal government's efforts to combat global climate change.
While China and the U.S. are the world's top greenhouse gas emitters in absolute terms, the report highlights the role relatively smaller polluters play in selling fossil fuels to other nations. Australia, which is also one of the biggest gas exporters, supplies economies throughout Asia, including Japan, China and South Korea.