Desperate Pacific islands at risk of sinking beneath the sea say Australia is "stuck in the Dark Ages" by relying on fossil fuels, in response to alarming data showing this nation's energy emissions have hit record highs.

The outcry from Australia's smallest neighbours comes just weeks after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited Samoa and reportedly promised Pacific leaders that he understood "very clearly" the threat of sea level rise to low-lying islands.

As Fairfax Media reported on Friday, a national audit prepared for The Australia Institute by energy analyst Hugh Saddler shows Australia's emissions from energy combustion reached a record high in the year to June, driven largely by petroleum, and specifically diesel, consumption.

The audit showed the increase in Australia's annual retail diesel emissions in the year to June on its own exceeded the total annual emissions of any Pacific nation.