Rating B (Moderately Effective)In Australia, water usage and availability have changed significantly over the last decade due to climate change as well as human patterns of water use. These two factors have resulted in shifts in rainfall patterns, temperature extremes, and community tension around the sustainable use of Australia’s water resources now and in the...
PROGRESS REPORTS/ MID-WAY 2023 Rating: C (Standing Still) Australian reporting on greenhouse gas emissions is publicly available on the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water website. However, there are significant delays in providing the data to the public. As a result, the latest emissions data is only available up to...
On December 5th, 2016, the City of Darebin, a local government in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, made history by becoming the first representative organization to declare a climate emergency. This bold move paved the way for an unprecedented wave of action across Australia, with 104 local governments following suit and declaring a climate emergency. These declarations...
In June 2022, the new Australian left-wing Labor federal government committed to a revised target of reducing emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. This was an increase on the previous commitment of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030...
While some debate exists around what defines a subsidy, the United Nations Environmental Program defines fossil fuel subsidies as financial contributions that benefit an external organisation. Like many other countries, Australia provides a range of subsidies that help prop up fossil fuel projects and profits. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Australia spent an...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia have the longest continuing culture on Earth. This culture is composed of a multiplicity of sovereign Nations interacting through established laws and customs for 60,000 years. These Nations, laws and customs all continue today. In the 2023 census 812,728 people identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres...
Australia is a major agricultural producer and exporter. Agricultural production covers 55% of the nation’s landmass (427 million hectares in 2020) and accounts for 24% of water extractions (2,746 gigalitres in 2019-2020). In total 12% of Australia’s goods and services exports were agricultural related and the sector as a whole account for 2.5% of national...
Looking Back 2022: Elections Result in a Pro-Science Government / Looking Forward 2023: Hopeful Cancellation of Proposed Fossil Fuel ProjectsIn 2022 Australians took the opportunity to vote in a new Federal government that expressed belief in climate science and a commitment to legislate emissions reduction targets. After almost a decade of entrenched climate denial by...
The National Electricity Market, Northwest Interconnected System, and the South West Interconnected System Australia has three separate power grid systems. The largest of these is the electricity grid on the east coast, which supplies and distributes electricity to Queensland (Qld), New South Wales (NSW), the Australia Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria (Vic), South Australia (SQ) and...
Australia’s primary database for tracking greenhouse gas emissions is the Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GGI), managed by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources (now renamed as Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)). The data is released on a quarterly basis and provides the most up-to-date information on Australia’s...
