Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg concedes Australia's greenhouse gas pollution continued to soar last year, confirming that more than a decade of climate policy bickering has failed to curb harmful emissions.

Official data shows Australia's annual emissions have risen for the fourth year running. They were up by 0.7 per cent in the year to June 2017, to 550 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The alarming figures come ahead of a critical few months for the Turnbull government as it seeks to convince the states and territories to sign off on its signature climate policy, the national energy guarantee – a measure that Labor says will fail to sufficiently rein in emissions.

The data, released last month, also casts serious doubt on Australia's ability to meet its international obligations under the Paris climate accord.