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| The Great Barrier Reef has experienced a bleaching event. Picture: Brian Cassey |
A major
independent review into the state of Australia’s environment has found
climate change is placing an “increasingly important and pervasive
pressure” on the nation and some of its impacts “may be irreversible”.
The state of the environment report,
produced every five years independently of government, shows the
country has faced a mix of improvements and challenges since 2011 but
the “main pressures” — climate change, land use change, habitat
fragmentation and degradation, and invasive species — remain the same.
The
effects from humans were greatest in Australia’s more populated coastal
areas and some urban “growth” areas, particularly in the southeast.
“Climate
change is an increasingly important and pervasive pressure on all
aspects of the Australian environment. It is altering the structure and
function of natural ecosystems, and affecting heritage, economic
activity and human wellbeing,” the report states.
“Climate
change will result in location-specific vulnerabilities, and people who
are socially and economically disadvantaged are most sensitive to
climate change. Evidence shows that the impacts of climate change are
increasing, and some of these impacts may be irreversible.”
The
Department of Environment and Energy, which commissioned the report,
lists profiles of its lead authors. They range from scientists at the
CSIRO and Australian Antarctic Division to environment experts at the
Australian Bureau of Statistics and marine ecologists.
Environment
Minister Josh Frydenberg, who concedes the government’s target of 23.5
per cent renewable energy generation by 2020 “will be quite a stretch”,
said good news from the report included improvements in the ozone layer
above the Antarctic, the protection of more indigenous areas, and the
listing of more Australian places on the national and world heritage
lists.
But he said climate change continued to be a “major challenge”.
“We’ve
seen a bleaching event last year in the Great Barrier Reef and we’re
concerned about further bleaching events and climate change and the El
Nino effect causes for that,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC TV.
“We’re
also seeing some real challenges with invasive species, particularly
feral cats that prey on marsupials and birds and reptiles, many of which
are on the endangered list.”
The
report’s panel of independent authors, including environmental
consultants, scientists and public servants, said a key challenge for
the government was to produce an “overarching national policy that
establishes a clear vision for the protection and sustainable management
of Australia’s environment to the year 2050.
“Meeting
these challenges requires: integrated policies and adaptive management
actions that address drivers of environmental change and the associated
pressures, national leadership, improved support for decision-making, a
more strategic focus on planning for a sustainable future, new, reliable
sources of financing,” the report says.
A
“new and emerging” stress in coastal and marine zones was the
“increasing amount of human litter”, with plastic making up about
three-quarters of debris found along the Australian coast.
Grazing continued to be a “major threat” to biodiversity.
The
authors adopt a mildly optimistic tone, saying with the right choices,
policies, management and technologies Australia “has the capacity” to
ensure economic prosperity and look after people’s health, education,
social and cultural needs, while protecting the environment for future
generations.
“Evidence shows that some
individual pressures on the environment have decreased since 2011, such
as those associated with air quality, poor agricultural practices,
commercial fishing, and oil and gas exploration and production in
Australia’s marine environment,” they say.
“During
the same time, however, other pressures have increased — for example,
those associated with coalmining and the coal-seam gas industry, habitat
fragmentation and degradation, invasive species, litter in our coastal
and marine environments, and greater traffic volumes in our capital
cities.”
The Australian Conservation
Foundation seized on the report, declaring the government needed to
increase funding for conservation and environmental protection “by at
least 400 per cent” if the “dramatic decline” of wildlife, reefs and
forests was to be reversed.
“Our
national anthem proudly says our land abounds in nature’s gifts, but
based on this report we need to seriously question how much longer this
will be the case,” the foundation’s CEO Kelly O’Shanassy said.
“This
report documents how big polluters, mining companies and land clearers
continue to greedily grab nature’s gifts – our forests, rivers, air and
seas – and exploit them for profit.”
States and Trends of the Environment:
- Australian average temperatures have increased by 1C since 1910.
- Australian rainfall has been variable during the past 100 years, particularly the last 40 years, with declining long-term rainfall observed across much of southern Australia.
- Air quality is generally good in our urban areas, with some local areas of concern.
- Advserse human health impacts appear to occur at lower concentrations of air pollution than previously thought.
Links
- Full report: State of the Environment
- Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are rising and forecast to miss 2030 target
- Arctic sea ice could disappear even if world achieves climate target
- Josh Frydenberg insists Paris climate deal lives on, despite MPs' claims
- State of the Environment report: bright spots, but much more to do
- Emissions trading backflip a recipe for price rises, say business groups
- Josh Frydenberg backtracks on emissions trading comments
- Direct Action review: Coalition leaves carbon trading option open
- Great Barrier Reef progress report: We have to do better on water quality, says Australia
- Climate change: Australia falling behind rest of world on emissions cuts, says report
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