Australia's greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, making the task of future pollution cuts to meet international commitments more difficult, the latest data for the government show.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, emissions rose 1.6 per cent in the March quarter, the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows. The Environment Department confirmed the quarterly increase was the biggest in nine years.

On an annual basis, the country's emissions reached 550.4 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent, excluding land use changes such as land clearing. That tally was up 1 per cent from a year earlier.

For the March quarter alone, the 138.3 million tonnes - again excluding land use changes - was the most for any quarter since at least 2001-02. If land clearing is taken into account, the total is the most since September 2005.