Executive summary: sustainability
Status 2007
The interaction of humans with the natural environment has resulted in dramatic and often irreversible changes to the natural environment, particularly since the Industrial Revolution. The pursuit of sustainability, where the goods and services provided by healthy living systems are maintained sufficiently to ensure quality of life, faces increasing challenges. Water security, drought and cleaner energy, underpinned by increasingly compelling evidence of climate change, are now the dominant issues of community concern and public policy debate.
Queensland's ecological footprint, a summary measure of the impact of human activities on the natural systems that support us, is three times the world average. It is, however, around 2% less than the average Australian ecological footprint. This result shows that our current pattern of consumption may not be sustainable in the long term.
Major contributing factors
Much of the consumption that contributes to a higher than global average ecological footprint is associated with the demands for freight transport over large distances, the use of coal for electricity generation to support a successful heavy industry sector, and building materials for the construction industry, especially housing.
Policy response
The Queensland Government has in place a number of initiatives to deal with the issues of concern facing society, many of which also contribute to the state's sizeable ecological footprint. These include ClimateSmart 2050 to ensure that the state plays its part in meeting a national greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 60% below its 2000 levels by 2050 and provide a range of initiatives that promote greater sustainability in energy use and power generation. Queensland Water Plan to secure water for current and future use; the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 to manage growth in the fastest-growing region in Australia in the most sustainable way, and to protect and enhance the quality of life in the region; TravelSmart and other transport initiatives to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging cycling, walking and the use of smaller vehicles to meet transport needs, and the mandatory use of a 5% ethanol blend for all petrol sold in Queensland by 2010; and a range of programs that encourage sustainable practices across industry, government and the general community. The Environmental Protection Agency has a range of initiatives to encourage eco-efficiency and promote environmentally sustainable practices in everyday life. These initiatives are supported by both federal and local government programs.
<<Return to State of the Environment Queensland 2007 content page
Last reviewed 12 May 2011
Last updated 9 February 2009