Globally

Acid precipitation has been one of the most prominent environmental concerns over the past decades, especially in Europe and North America, and more recently also in China. Thousands of lakes in Scandinavia lost fish populations due to acidification from the 1950s to the 1980s. Significant damage to forests in Europe became a high priority environmental issue around 1980. Air pollutant emissions have declined or stabilized in most industrialized countries, largely as a result of abatement policies developed and implemented since the 1970s. Initially, governments tried to apply direct control instruments but these were not always cost effective. In the 1980s, policies were directed more towards pollution abatement mechanisms that relied on a compromise between the cost of environmental protection measures and economic growth. Stricter environmental regulation in industrialized countries has triggered the introduction of cleaner technology and technological improvements, especially in the power generation and transport sectors.

Since the industrial revolution, the concentration of CO2, one of the major greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere has increased significantly, contributing to the greenhouse effect known as ‘global warming’. The increase is largely due to anthropogenic emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion and to a lesser extent land-use change, cement production and biomass combustion. Greenhouse gas emissions are unevenly distributed between countries and regions. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries contributed more than half of CO2 emissions in 1998, with a per capita emission of about three times the world average. However, the OECD’s share of global CO2 emissions has decreased by 11 per cent since 1973. Climate change represents an important additional stress on those ecosystems already affected by increasing resource demands, unsustainable management practices and pollution. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol are the key policy instruments adopted by the international community to try to address the problem of greenhouse gases emissions.

The protection of the ozone layer has presented one of the major challenges over the past 30 years, spanning the fields of environment, trade, industry, international cooperation and sustainable development. The depletion of the ozone layer has now reached record levels, especially in the Antarctic and recently also in the Arctic. In September 2000, the Antarctic ozone hole covered more than 28 million km. Continuous efforts by the international community have resulted in a marked decrease in the consumption of ozone-depleting substances. The ozone layer is predicted to start recovering in the next one or two decades and to return to pre-1980 levels by the middle of the 21st century— if the control measures of the protocols to the Vienna Convention are adhered to by all countries.

Locally - Australia

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Air quality in Australian cities improved between the 1980s and mid 1990s, but could deteriorate unless new measures are found to combat the extra 50,000-200,000 motor vehicles that are being added to our roads each year. Pneumonia, loss of lung function, asthma, other respiratory problems, heart disease and lung cancer are some of the health risks associated with urban air pollution. In recent years Commonwealth and state governments have made some effort to address urban air pollution. For the first time, national air quality guidelines have been developed and new vehicle emission standards are to be introduced in the future.

In rural and regional Australia, levels of most pollutants are well below actual or proposed standards. Sulfur dioxide emissions have decreased substantially in regional locations and are now of concern only in a few limited localities.

Transport energy use per capita in Australian cities is second only to that of the USA. This is mainly because of our high dependence upon private motor cars for passenger transport. Automobile dependence is arguably the principal cause of urban sprawl.

The environment, health, social and economic consequences of motor car dependence and associated urban sprawl include:

• global warming arising from the emission of greenhouse gases;
• local pollution of air, water and soil;
• loss of open space and prime agricultural land to urban development;
• damage to natural bushland and ecosystems, resulting in loss of biodiversity;
• injuries and fatalities from road accidents;
• social isolation and for those without cars lack of access to employment, educational and other community facilities;
• economic loss and additional environmental pollution resulting from congested roads;
• increased infrastructure costs of development on the urban fringe; and
• insecurity of oil supply and increased foreign debt from importing oil.

Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 16.9% between 1990 and 1998. Every year, on average every Australian emits 27 tonnes of greenhouse gases through energy use (twice the OECD average and the third highest behind the USA and Canada). According to a report released by the CSIRO in 2001, Australia would be one of the regions worst hit by climate change. The findings predict that Australia will experience:

Environment

enhanced La Niña and El Niño effects producing longer droughts and more severe flooding

higher temperatures (average temperatures up to 6ºC higher by 2070)

greater moisture stress and worse bushfires due to less average rainfall and higher evaporation levels

species extinction from loss of habitat, sea level rises, decreased river flows

Industry and jobs

loss of agricultural yield due to temperature rises and lower rainfall (lower wheat protein and dairy production)

southward move of pests such as cattle tick, fruit fly and light-brown apple moth (costing an additional $3.5million p.a. for fruit fly management)

up to two-thirds decline in snow cover by 2030

loss to tourism industry from coral bleaching that is likely to become common by 2020

Human health

injury and death from heat waves, tropical cyclones and floods

"indirect effects" including infectious diseases such as dengue-fever, food poisoning by fish contaminated by toxic algal blooms, water borne diseases such as giardia, mosquito borne diseases, and increased incidence of skin cancer and eye cataracts from ozone depletion

water shortages, particularly in southern and western Australia

vehicle and housing damage from gales, hail, waves and storm surges in coastal communities (cyclone and flood areas in north Queensland could double by 2050).

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