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

Showing 30 of 34 results

‘Human influence on the climate system is clear’

2016
Atmosphere
Key Finding

2016The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made this statement in its most recent report (Stocker et al. 2013a). The IPCC’s role is to review, assess and synthesise the latest information on climate change. Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere have...

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State and trends of the Antarctic cryosphere

2016, 2011
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Assessment summary

Antarctic environment State and trends The physical environment: The cryosphere Antarctica...

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Managing for resilience

2016
Marine environment
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Resilience Great Barrier Reef Marine North Marine North West Marine South East Most management...

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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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Risks to Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Risks
At a glance

At a glanceAn understanding of the risks associated with Australia’s climate will lead to improved action plans to adapt to the changes predicted to occur. Our climate is a dynamic system; therefore, the risks need to be re-evaluated frequently. Recent climate change projections for...

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State and trends of the Antarctic atmosphere

2016, 2011
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Assessment summary

Antarctic environment State and trends The physical environment: The atmosphere—climate and weather patterns Antarctica...

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Effectiveness of climate change management

2016, 2011
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Assessment summary

Climate Effectiveness of management Planning and strategyManagement outputs and outcomesUnderstanding and researchRole and coordination of different levels of government...

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Direct (primary) effects of pressures on climate

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures Greater Sydney The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology State of the climate 2014 (CSIRO...

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Sustained ocean monitoring

2016
Marine environment
Outlook
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Outlook Great Barrier Reef Responding to a changing and increasingly modified environment, especially one where directing or modifying the trajectory of change is...

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Climate change

2016
Heritage
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Heritage Pressures Murray Darling Tasmania Great Barrier Reef Marine North Greater Sydney...

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Understanding and research

2016
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
... climate science has advanced significantly. The IPCC, operating under the United Nations, is the leading ...
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The living environment: Marine and terrestrial

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica Given its extreme conditions, the Antarctic has a surprising diversity of ecosystems. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest and...

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Trends in emissions

2016
Climate
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Climate Pressures Greater Melbourne Greater Sydney Absolute aggregate emissions Between 1990 and 2015, Australia’s national GHG inventory suggested that emissions...

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Climate and system variability

2016
Marine environment
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Pressures Tasmania Marine Temperate East Marine South West Great Barrier Reef Marine North...

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Pressures affecting heritage values

2016, 2011
Heritage
Pressures
Assessment summary

Heritage Pressures Climate changePopulation growthEconomic growthPressures on natural heritagePressures on Indigenous heritagePressures on historic heritage...

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The living environment: Vertebrate populations

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica Vertebrate populations Antarctic vertebrates encompass a variety of flying seabirds and penguins, several seals and whales, and numerous...

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The physical environment: The cryosphere

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica The physical environment includes both the nonliving factors that characterise an ecosystem (e.g. weather patterns, ice coverage, the...

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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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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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Future risks associated with climate change

2011
Coasts
Risks
Report Content

2011 Coasts Risks Climate change is a major driver of change for Australia. Commenting on Australia’s vulnerability, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted in 2007:41 Even if adaptive capacity is...

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2 Drivers | References

2011 Report Content
... Change. Special report: emissions scenarios. Geneva: IPCC, 2000, viewed 10 August 2011,   www.ipcc.ch/pdf/special-reports/spm/sres-en.pdf . 11 Allison I, ... Smith S, Swart R, van Vuuren P. Misrepresentation of the IPCC CO 2 emission scenarios. Nature Geoscience ...
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3 Atmosphere | References

2011
Atmosphere
Report Content
... Change. Climate change 2007: synthesis report. Geneva: IPCC, 2007. 9 Richardson K, Steffen W, Schellnhuber HJ, ... . 24 Cai W, Cowan T. SAM and regional rainfall in IPCC AR4 models: can anthropogenic forcing account for ... of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Geneva: IPCC, 2007. 26 Intergovernmental Panel on ...
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2011 Report graph - Figure 2.2 Annual industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 1990–2008 and 2009

2011
Drivers
Graph

Figure 2.2 Fossil fuel CO2 emissions (Gt of carbon/year) Figure 2.2 Annual industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 1990–2008 and 2009 Black circles represent the years 1990–2008, and the open circle represents 2009. Emissions fall...

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Climate research

2011
Climate
State and trends
Report Content

2011 Climate State and trends Murray Darling Indian Ocean Variability and extremes of weather are key characteristics of Australia’s climate. Australian scientists are...

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Management outputs and outcomes

2011
Climate
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2011 Climate Effectiveness of management Efforts by government, the business sector and the broader community to reduce GHG emissions are essential to minimise the degree of climate change and associated consequences....

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2011 Report graph - Figure 2.3 Projected changes across Australia in (a) annual average temperatures between 1980–99 and 2030, and (b) annual average precipitation in 2030 (compared to the period 1980–99)

2011 Graph

Figure 2.3 (b) Figure 2.3 Projected changes across Australia in (a) annual average temperatures between 1980–99 and 2030, and (b) annual average precipitation in 2030 (compared to the period 1980–99) The projections give an estimate of the...

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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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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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3 Atmosphere | 2 Climate | 2.5 Risks to Australia's climate

2011
Climate
Risks
At a glance

At a glanceFor Australia, as the driest inhabitable continent and with a climate characterised by high levels of variability, climate change poses a clear and present threat. At national and regional scales, although there is inevitable uncertainty associated with projections of future...

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11 Coasts | References

2011
Coasts
Report Content
... of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Geneva: IPCC, 2007. 42 Australian Government Department of Climate ...
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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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