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Historic Content you are reading content from a previous reporting year.

Showing 30 of 36 results

Pressures affecting Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Pressures
At a glance

At a glanceGreenhouse gases (GHGs)—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, short-lived tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, nitrous oxide and synthetic GHGs—together with water vapour, and natural and industrial aerosols, influence Earth’s energy balance. Human activity, primarily the burning of...

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Kyoto Protocol targets

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content
... in 2007, Australia committed to limiting increases in net GHG emissions to 108 per cent of its 1990 levels from 2008 ...
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Climate: 2011–16 in context

2016
Climate
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Climate Introduction As reported in SoE 2011, climate change continues to be a global problem. A major development since the 2011 report has been international cooperation to address the global issue, with 195 ...

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Outlook for Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Outlook
At a glance

At a glanceThe outlook for Australia’s climate depends on the effectiveness of international and national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without mitigation, surface temperature increases of 3.7–4.8 °C above 1850–1900 temperatures are projected. To remain below 2 °C warming above...

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Planning and strategy

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Climate Effectiveness of management South Coast An important role of government is to develop effective policies, implemented through supporting strategies and plans. Emissions...

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Trends in emissions

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content
Between 1990 and 2015, Australia’s national GHG inventory suggested that emissions decreased ...
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Management outputs and outcomes

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
Reductions in GHG emissions are essential to minimise the amount of global ...
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Direct (primary) effects of pressures on climate

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content
... 0.6 °C between 1910 and 1990. By 2070, if growth in GHG emissions continues in line with past trends, projected ... warming will be in the range of 2.2–5.0 °C. For low GHG emissions scenarios (which assume a significant reduction ...
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Selected socio-economic and environmental measures, Australia, 1996–97 to 2012–13

2016 Graph

Selected socio-economic and environmental measures, Australia, 1996–97 to 2012–13 Selected socio-economic and environmental measures, Australia, 1996–97 to 2012–13 Gross value addedPopulation sizeEnergy ConsumptionGHG emissionsWater consumptionWaste generation...

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Figure OVW3 Selected Socio-economic and environmental measures, 1996-97 to 2013-14

2016 Graph

Selected Socio-economic and environmental measures, 1996-97 to 2013-14 Selected Socio-economic and environmental measures, 1996-97 to 2013-14 Gross value addedPopulationEnergy ConsumptionGHG emissionsWater consumptionWaste generation 1996-97100100100100100100...

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Pressures affecting Australia’s climate

2016, 2011
Climate
Pressures
Assessment summary

Climate Pressures Direct (primary) effects of pressures on climateTrends in emissionsKyoto Protocol targetsAustralia’s emissions in contextIncreases in greenhouse gasesIndirect (secondary and tertiary) effects of pressures on...

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Effectiveness of management 2016

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
At a glance

At a glanceClimate change is a global problem that will require coordinated international action by all countries. The Paris Agreement, to which 195 countries (including Australia) have agreed, aims to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-...

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Urban environmental efficiency: Energy efficiency

2016
Built environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Built environment State and trends Timor Sea Urban environmental efficiency refers to how well the built environment encourages the efficient use of natural resources—land, energy and...

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Decoupling population change and economic activity from environmental harm

2016
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Introduction If managed well, drivers such as population change and economic activity can benefit sustainable development, particularly through technological and institutional innovation, and changes in human behaviour. Successive SoE reports...

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Drivers of environmental change

2016 Report Content

2016 Two drivers will continue to shape Australia’s environmental challenges in the coming decades: population growth, distribution and composition; and economic activity. Population and economic drivers lead to a range of specific pressures, which can be global, national,...

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Australia’s emissions in context

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures Greater Brisbane Greater Darwin Greater Hobart Greater Melbourne Although Australia’s emissions in...

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Increases in greenhouse gases

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures Tasmania Greater Brisbane Greater Darwin Greater Hobart Greater Melbourne...

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Understanding and research

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Climate Effectiveness of management Tasmania Greater Melbourne In the 5 years since SoE 2011, international climate science has advanced significantly. The IPCC,...

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Resilience of our environment and society

2016
Climate
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Climate Resilience South Coast South Australian Gulf Timor Sea Great Barrier Reef Marine North...

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Emission sources

2011
Climate
Pressures
Report Content
... continues to be the dominant source of Australia’s GHG emissions, accounting for 74% of net emissions, including ...
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Pressures affecting Australia's climate

2011
Climate
Pressures
At a glance

At a glanceThe energy balance of Earth’s atmosphere is influenced by the presence of trace levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour (a major GHG), and natural and industrial aerosols. Since the start of the industrial era (around 1750...

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Climate change

2011
Introduction
Report Content

2011 Introduction Climate has always been a prime determinant of the Australian environment and its condition, with droughts and floods perhaps more characteristic than for other inhabited continents. The recent drought in south-east Australia is...

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Drivers Introduction

2011
Introduction
At a glance

The condition, trend and outlook for the Australian environment are subject to some major drivers of change. Understanding and quantifying these drivers is fundamental to understanding the past, present and future state of our environment. The 2008 Victorian state of the...

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Understanding and research

2011
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2011 Climate Effectiveness of management Information about climate change and its likely impacts is the first requirement of good adaptation and mitigation policies. This requires strengthening of the climate-related...

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3 Atmosphere | 2 Climate | 2.6 Outlook for Australia's climate

2011
Climate
Outlook
At a glance

At a glanceThe latest State of the climate report notes that, by 2070, if growth in global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) continues in line with past trends, Australia will warm by 2.2–5.0 °C. A rise of around 2 °C over just two centuries is expected to lead to widespread and...

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Resilience of our climate

2011
Climate
Resilience
Report Content
... among climate scientists that, unless the growth in GHG emissions is soon slowed and reversed, continued increase ...
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Direct (primary) effects of pressures on climate

2011
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2011 Climate Pressures CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest State of the climate report48 concludes that, in the coming decades, Australia will be hotter and much of the continent will be drier. More...

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Stratospheric ozone

2011
Ambient air quality
Pressures
Report Content

2011 Ambient air quality Pressures Global production of ODSs continues to decline (Figure 3.30). However, due to the long atmospheric lifetimes of a number of important ODSs, they will continue to impact levels of...

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Emissions trends

2011
Climate
Pressures
Report Content
... 2007), Australia is committed to limiting increases in net GHG emissions to 108% of its 1990 levels by 2008–2012 (the ...
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3 Atmosphere | 3 Ambient air quality and other atmospheric issues | 3.2 Pressures affecting Australia's atmosphere

2011
Ambient air quality
Pressures
At a glance

At a glanceNitrous oxide, an ozone depleting substance and a greenhouse gas (GHG), is produced by a variety of natural and human-related sources (notably agricultural processes). Although its ozone depleting potential is low relative to chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11), human emissions are at...

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Australia State of the Environment 2016 has been prepared by independent experts using the best available information to support assessments of environmental condition, pressures, management effectiveness, resilience, risks and outlook.

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We, the authors, acknowledge the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community; we pay respect to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present.

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