Page 276 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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of the ACT’s environment. The Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment provided the 2019 report to me, as Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change, on 19 December 2019. Under the act, the report must be presented to the Legislative Assembly within six sitting days of the minister receiving the report.
The ACT State of the environment report is a four-yearly report. The 2019 report covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2019 and includes an assessment of the state and trends of the environment, the pressures on it and their impacts, the management initiatives that are in place to address environmental concerns and the effectiveness of those initiatives. Data gaps and policy challenges are also outlined.
For the 2019 report, environmental assessments are based on 26 core indicators across seven themes—namely, climate change, human settlements, air, land, biodiversity, water and fire—selected to address specific environmental issues. The 2019 report includes a dedicated chapter on Indigenous heritage and environmental issues and interests. This is the first time the ACT State of the environment report has begun with such considerations. Other dedicated chapters include acknowledgement and celebration of ACT community contribution to sustainability and environmental knowledge. The value of this work is significant, with replacement value estimated in the order of $40 million to $50 million per year, and the importance and status of Canberra’s urban trees.
Drivers of environmental challenges and change in the ACT continue to be climate change, our ecological footprint, population growth and development pressures. Key findings include that the ACT’s per-capita ecological footprint is 5.4 hectares, which is comparable to the Australian average. The ACT’s ecological footprint has decreased by 11 per cent since 2019, but there remains room for improvement. The ACT’s total carbon footprint has decreased by 20 per cent since 2019, largely due to our transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity.
The report recognises our world leading action on climate change, however rates climate trends and impacts of climate change as poor, due to the worsening impacts of climate change being experienced in our region. While air quality is not typically a major issue locally, the report recommends improved air-quality monitoring. There remain challenges for protecting our biodiversity, including land clearing for development, better understanding and managing the impacts of climate changes on species and ecosystems and eradication of invasive species.
The commissioner has provided 35 formal recommendations to assist the ACT government to make strategic and practical decisions and undertake specific actions to improve environmental outcomes. The recommendations aim to focus ACT government effort where it is likely to have the greatest impact, including opportunities to integrate multiple environmental outcomes in government policies and programs.
Under the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment Act 1993, the ACT government is required to present a statement that sets out its responses to these recommendations within six months of tabling this report in the Legislative Assembly. In addition to formal recommendations, the commissioner has presented 42 key
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