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We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the sovereign Traditional Owners of Australia and thank them for their stewardship of this Country, its lands, waters and skies. We respectfully acknowledge their culture and customary practices, and pay respect to their Ancestors, Elders and future leaders.

For the first time, the State of the Environment report includes a strong Indigenous narrative across all 12 thematic chapters, a narrative crafted through recognising the leadership, collaboration and authorship of Indigenous Australians who continue their connection as Traditional Owners to their lands, waters and skies.

Click to view the State of the Environment report

 

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Industry

Industry operating within our urban areas places an array of pressures on the environment. Of note is resource consumption (see Resource consumption), air and land pollutant generation, and waste generation (see Waste and pollution).

Assessment Pressures affecting the urban environment
2021
2021 Assessment graphic showing that pressures are high, meaning they moderately degrade the state of the environment, over a moderate extent and/or with moderate severity. The trend is unclear.
Medium confidence

Australia’s population will continue to grow, putting more pressure on major urban cities to densify and expand, leading to greater travel and overall resource consumption, waste and pollution. The impact of these pressures is currently stable, but climate change is expected to compound the pressures on infrastructure, systems and resources, with the potential to increase impacts and lead to worsening conditions.
Related to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal targets 6.3, 11.b, 11.3, 11.6

Legend
How was this assessment made
Assessment Climate change
2021
2021 Assessment graphic showing that pressures are very high, meaning they strongly degrade the state of the environment, over a large extent and with a high degree of severity. The situation is deteriorating.
High confidence
2016
Assessment graphic from 2011 or 2016 showing that pressures were very high, meaning they strongly degrade the state of the environment, over a large extent and with a high degree of severity. The situation was deteriorating.
2011
Assessment graphic from 2011 or 2016 showing that pressures were high, meaning they moderately degrade the state of the environment, over a moderate extent and/or with moderate severity. The trend was unclear.

Australian urban areas have very high exposure to the climate change impacts. These impacts are expected to increase, placing growing pressure on the urban environment and the livability of its citizens. Climate change is also expected to affect biodiversity in urban areas through greater urban heat; more extreme events including bushfires, drought, extreme rainfall and flooding; and sea level rise.

Assessment Population growth: urban densification and expansion, travel demand, resource consumption, waste and pollution
2021
2021 Assessment graphic showing that pressures are high, meaning they moderately degrade the state of the environment, over a moderate extent and/or with moderate severity. The trend is unclear.
Medium confidence
2016
Assessment graphic from 2011 or 2016 showing that pressures were very high, meaning they strongly degrade the state of the environment, over a large extent and with a high degree of severity. The situation was stable.
2011
Assessment graphic from 2011 or 2016 showing that pressures were very high, meaning they strongly degrade the state of the environment, over a large extent and with a high degree of severity. The situation was deteriorating.

Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that Australia’s population will continue to grow over the medium to long term, putting greater pressure on major urban cities to densify as well as expand. This will imply greater travel and overall resource consumption, producing more traffic congestion, waste and pollution, leading to greater pressures on important environmental and agricultural areas.
At the same time, from an environmental perspective, the migration to regional areas has led to improvements in major cities, particularly in terms of consumption. This trend might be good for cities, but is unclear or deteriorating for regional areas where they may experience more pressure on consumption, infrastructure issues, sprawls due to new development, and increases in house prices. More data on long-term effects are needed.

Assessment Industry: urban expansion, resource consumption, waste and pollution
2021
2021 Assessment graphic showing that pressures are high, meaning they moderately degrade the state of the environment, over a moderate extent and/or with moderate severity. The situation is stable.
Medium confidence

Industry has a high impact on the environment, although this varies depending on types of industry and resource use. The trend is stable because this phenomenon is highly regulated (particularly for energy), though it has not improved because the circular economy has not yet embedded itself. However, many industries are becoming more energy and resource efficient for economic and environmental reasons.