Selected environmental performance indicators
Australia needs to intensify mitigation efforts to meet its 2030 target
Despite significant progress, a large share of eessed
The Australian economy withstood the global financial crisis
Australia performs well in the OECD Better Life Index
Coal dominates the energy mix but natural gas and renewables are growing
Renewables development is uneven across states and territories
Progress in energy productivity is not fast enough to reach the 2030 target
Air emissions have been further decoupled from economic activity
Material extraction increased faster than GDP but consumption remained stable
Waste generation is increasing but more waste is being recycled and recovered
Forest regrowth more than offsets losses from clearing
Australia protects a higher share of its land and marine area than the OECD as a whole
Australia has a rich variety of mineral and fossil fuel resources
Agriculture is the main water user
Compliance monitoring appears effective in New South Wales
More businesses voluntarily adopt environmental management systems
More students are choosing environment-related university programmes
Energy taxes' contribution to tax revenue has declined
Australia lags behind most OECD countries in pricing carbon
The Emissions Reduction Fund mostly supports emission reductions from vegetation management
Mining is the main beneficiary of Fuel Tax Credits
Federal expenditure on environmental protection has been declining since 2013
Expenditure on urban water supply has increased significantly
Record 2017 investment secured the 2020 target on renewables
Public R&D spending targets the energy sector
Employment in renewable energy activities
Climate-related aid increased in 2016 but remains low
The Great Barrier Reef catchments are losing trees, rainfed lands and wetlands, while grasslands expand
Threatened species numbers are increasing, partly due to improved knowledge
Invasive species, fire and fire suppression are key pressures on threatened species
Queensland and New South Wales have the lowest levels of protection
Biodiversity programmes have come and gone but overall expenditure has been fairly level since 2010
The chemical and plastic industry is the country's second largest manufacturing sector
The value of chemical and pharmaceutical production fell significantly in a decade of general economic growth
Endosulfan concentrations at study sites in 2011-14
The IMAP framework is an effective means of industrial chemical assessment