THE State Of The Environment Report 2021 released today by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek showed the Australian environment had deteriorated substantially since the previous five-year report in 2016, environmentalists, climate activists and business leaders said yesterday.
Climate Action Newcastle spokesperson Ian Wilcox said the report underlined the need for "a speedy transition away from coal", while the chair of Doctors for the Environment Australia, Newcastle rheumatologist Dr John Van Der Kallen, said "deep emissions cuts this decade" were needed to counter "severe environmental harm made worse by climate change".
Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said the new government had "a pretty clear mandate" on climate change, and "clearer indications" from Canberra would give businesses the confidence to invest in "clean energy and low emissions" technology.
"We want to be able to say clearly to investors and developers - 'this is what the country needs to develop and produce to meet our targets; here is the framework for implementing government roadmaps, here are the priority areas and this is the level the government will stay and remain involved in clean energy and low emissions investments'," Mr Hawes said.
"This builds confidence for the private sector to invest, build, grow and contribute to the overall aim, which is addressing the impacts of climate change and injecting resilience into our communities and economy."
The web-based report is divided into 12 chapters - air quality, Antarctica, biodiversity, climate, coasts, extreme events, heritage, indigenous, inland water, land, marine and urban - summarised in a 274-page overview.
Among the overview's list of environmental "pressures" is "extractive industries" - pertinent to the Hunter Region and its coal industry.
Citing ABS data, the report says mining is Australia's biggest earner, contributing $202 billion, or more than 10 per cent of GDP, in 2019-20.
Even with opposition to coal, spending on mining exploration doubled from $344 million in 2016 to $878 million in 2021.
Less than one per cent of Australia is classified as "mining and waste" but 115,000 hectares were added to mining land, and 45,000 hectares no longer mining-related, between 2010 and 2015, a net increase of 5.7 per cent.
"However impacts on that land are immense . . ." the report said. "Despite the economic benefits of our mineral wealth, Australia continues to bear the legacy of tens of thousands of orphaned or abandoned mine sites that pose an ongoing risk to the environment, public health and safety".
The report says Australia has another 275 year's worth of coal, including 125 years of "economic(ally) demonstrated" resources.
Even with "an increasing share of renewables", fossil fuels still accounted for 94 per cent of Australia's "primary energy mix" in 2018-19. The electricity sector was responsible for 33.6 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, meaning it remained the biggest single contributor.
Presaging recent problems in the National Electricity Market, the report says renewables "offer opportunities for low-cost, low emissions energy, however they present challenges in ensuring the security, reliability and affordability of the power system".
The State of the Environment Report was handed to the former Morrison government in December last year, but as Labor has highlighted this week, the Coalition did not make it public while it was in office.
Launching the report at the National Press Club in Canberra at lunchtime, Ms Plibersek said promised a greater environmental focus under Labor, with a goal of protecting 30 per cent of land and 30 per cent of oceans by 2030.
She said the Albanese government would respond by the end of the year to a review of the Commonwealth's main environmental laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act (EPBC), which was conducted for the Morrison government by former ACCC head Graeme Samuel.
Responding to the press club address, the Wilderness Society said the "long overdue" report painted a widely expected picture of "Australia's worsening nature crisis".
Wilderness Society campaigns director Amelia Young said the government's commitment needed "action" to go with the rhetoric.
"Reformed laws will need to be effective and actually change the status quo of the destruction and degradation happening on the ground," Ms Young said.
"They will need to be fair and apply across all sectors of the economy and society with no exceptions.
"They will need to have integrity and give the community a meaningful say in environmental decisions that affect them. And they will need to be forward looking. Nature clearly needs help to thrive-funding, science, institutions and real recovery and management efforts."
