This article is written by Aayush Chadha BBALLB 4th Semester, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla, an intern under Legal Vihdiya
ABSTRACT
Australia is one of the largest countries in the world, covering a continent famous for its culture, its abundant beautiful beaches, its rainforests and other bounties of nature. Exotic species of animals and rare plants call Australia their home, and the country has fostered these species gracefully and generously. However, from the past few it has been plagued by extreme weather conditions, with heat waves, bushfires and floods. The rising global temperature caused due to global warming has also not eased the burdens. The country has had robust laws to battle the situation, however, the laws have been inefficient to deal with the current climatic issues. Australia as a country has to evolve in order to deal with the situation, and the situation has to be evaluated globally in order to prevent further damage to the climatic conditions.
Key words:
Australia, climate, change, laws, development
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this paper is to discuss the changes in the climatic conditions of Australia, the growing concern for the changing conditions and the laws governing the continent. Furthermore, the developments in the laws, the historical conditions and the need to evaluate the conditions of the climate along with the reform for laws required to support the changes will be discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Australia has seen severe changes in the climatic conditions in the past few years with extreme weather conditions daunting the nation. Australia has warmed by just over 1 °C since 1910, with most warming since 1950. Due to this warming there has been an astronomical increase in the frequency of extreme heat events. Furthermore, it has increased the severity of drought conditions during periods of below-average rainfall. Eight of Australia’s top ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2005.[1] Effects of global climatic changes have worsened the climatic conditions resulting in bushfires and increased number of deaths due to heat waves. It is imperative to note that, more people have died in Australia in heat waves than all other natural disasters[2]. In southern Australia, the pattern of rainfall has indicated, a reduction in the past few years. The sea level has arisen, storms and floods have increased. These increasing climatic conditions have created huge problems. The laws in Australia have been criticised and as such need to be evaluated.
Historical Weather Conditions
Australia has been a country known for its beaches and tropical serenity. It has had a hot weather in most parts of the country, however the weather was a lot cooler, compared to the weather conditions today. Australia during the periods of colonization by the British, much like India, developed as a feeder economy, exporting raw material and unfinished goods. Iron ore, gold and coal used to be primary products. Today, Australia is one of the biggest exporters of Coal and its power consumption needs are fulfilled by thermal power. This has led to Australia becoming a leading producer of greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming and worse climatic conditions. Australia, much like other countries, has learn of its folly and has implemented measures to move on to renewable sources of energy. However, as a country, dependent on Coal production and export, the odds of reforming the energy sector which is highly dominated on thermal power will be a humongous task for the parties involved.
Environment laws and policies:
Politicians and the government at large are essential in combating the current problem in Australia. In Australia there are three levels of government, and Environmental laws need to be enforced by every level of government. Along with them various government department and regulatory bodies have the power to form rules and regulations, qua the protection of biodiversity. Research has continued for the past few years by various scientists, independent and government funded, evaluating every facet of the current environmental research programme. Furthermore, different policies and laws have been proposed by different governments during their tenure, and many policies have been implemented. Australia has also signed or ratified approximately 100 environmental treaties. Key environmental bilateral and multilateral instruments on environment which have effect in Australia include
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)
- Paris Agreement.
Currently the following policies and laws have been effect or have been proposed in the Commonwealth of Australia:
- The current labour government in Australia has proposed a net zero decarbonisation goal by 2050 and of cutting carbon emissions 43% by 2030 from a 2005 baseline. However, the policy has been criticised and has failed to bring any real changes in the carbon emissions, according to various scientists. The policy, as ambitious as it may be, has desperately failed to create policies to combat the problem. The share of renewable energy in the National Energy Market will be fundamental in determining the success of the policies.
- The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 or the EPBC Act is the primary legislation responsible for the protection and promotion of ecological and environmental matters of Australia. The act has been called into question in the past few years, and has been termed as toothless and ineffective, in severe need of reform. Considering the same, the labour government proposed overhauling the act and advised about the idea of instituting an independent Environment Protection Agency, with the aim of supporting the National Environmental Standards with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act.
- The NEPC or the National Environment Protection Council Act,1994, establishes National Environment Protection Council which consists of environment Ministers from all the jurisdictions. The key role of NEPC is to make National Environmental Protection Measures which would result in creating standards for protection measures for several matters like biodiversity, air pollution etc. However, like the other acts, the National Environmental Protection Measures, have been criticised and have been proposed to be updated and reformed in the near future to combat the growing problem of air pollution.
- Other laws, policies, rules and legislations governing the growing challenges environmental and climatic condition in Australia include but are not limited to:-
- The Water Resources Act 2007- this act is responsible for the usage of water directly from water bodies including surface water and ground water.
- Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy- This policy deals with the planning and development of a vehicle strategy which would involve investment in electric vehicles, to reduce emissions by the transport sector.
- The Reef 2050 plan- This is a policy of the Australian Government to protect the Great Barrier reef, which is a national treasure of the country, from the ill effects of climatic changes and environmental erosion.
- The Carbon Tax- Australia imposed a carbon tax on the worst polluters, who produced the most greenhouse emissions. The tax was imposed in 2012, however by 2014, Australia became the first country to abolish the tax on carbon.
Why is the Situation in Australia Concerning:
The current situation in Australia presents a bleak picture for the world. Like other countries dependent on coal and thermal power, Australia’s industries have prospered. However, the country is facing the ill effects of an overall global emission, the climatic issues caused due to greenhouse emissions and the effects of using thermal power for power generating purposes.
Australia as a country has implemented laws and has tried to reform the system of governance and laws related to environment and biodiversity. However, it may be that the laws are too little, too late. The amount of capital, infrastructure and political support needed to reform the ideology of the people and to impose a stringent system of laws, battling corporate greed, and at the same time moving towards renewable energy would be hard for any country in the world.
The situation in Australia has gotten worse in the past few years with bushfires, floods, rainfall and other natural calamities increasing. Sources of fresh water and cultural and native sites are getting lost. Australia as a country has a diverse background of flora and fauna and has provided habitat and shelter to many animals. Due to extreme weather conditions coral reefs and all the underwater animals dependent on them are facing annihilation, unless adequate steps are taken by the government. The current situation including forest fires and heat waves are leading to irreparable loss to the natural beauty, serenity and wildlife of the country. The sea levels in Australia and rising and every year floods are increasing. Furthermore, heat waves are causing increased number of deaths every year. The damage to property, wildlife, crops and infrastructure as a whole has increased in the past few decades. [3]
The world need to be alarmed at the situation and lend a helping hand. Long with that stringent changes in policies need to be made all over the world. India has been a leader in global emissions for the past few decades. The transformation of India has been on the backbone of thermal power and by greenhouse emissions. The laws in India are not upto the standards and while becoming a global superpower, India needs to remember its duties and obligations to the rest of the world, to its citizens and the future generations. While manufacturing sector is booming in India, and the subcontinent is moving from an agrarian economy to a global superpower, known for its technology and finished goods, its manufacturing prowess has been built by flouting environmental laws and in blatant disregard to environmental norms.
The world needs to see the problems which Australia is battling and needs to move forward together, moving away from fossil fuels, and reducing carbon emissions. The problem would not be eradicated by the actions of one country, and the policies of international organizations and international treaties need to be reaffirmed and re-evaluated to set a global standard which the entire world can follow.
Suggestions for Reform:
Australia need to re-evaluate and reframe the legislations governing the environmental laws in Australia. Furthermore, the laws need to be evaluated periodically, considering the changes in the environmental policies and conditions. The law making process should not be restricted as a one-time process, and amendments should be made to move towards better enactment of the laws. Moreover, the country needs to afford protection to the most vulnerable faction, who are suffering most from the problem of greenhouse emissions and climatic changes, and to those groups, investing in whom will bring the most favourable changes to the climate. The policies of afforestation need to be promoted and the usage of fossil fuel and coal needs to be cut with a systematic plan and procedure, so as to not create further burden on the economy. A prolonged commitment to improve the climatic conditions is needed from all the parties involved, including governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, businesses, industries, scientists and academicians etc in order to curb the problem and to form a systematic procedure for forming a reliable plan of action. A constant review of the laws, policies and a system of check on the government needs to be evolved to form a long term solution.
CONCLUSION
In this paper various aspects of the climatic situation in Australia and the laws governing the nation were discussed along with suggestion for reform and why the problem should be re-considered. Australia has been battling various effects of climatic changes and as such has been forced to adopt measures to adapt to the conditions. No country in the world can in this day and age completely rid itself of the centuries of exploitation of natural resources and the large amounts of global emissions caused by the prospect of development driven by human greed. However, the countries can adapt with the situation, and ensure efforts to curb further damage to the environment. Australia has had governments fall and rise on the prospects of policies to curb climate change and as such it is the biggest problem in the country. Hence, adequate measures and responses need to be taken by the parties involved.
[1] https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/climate-change/state-of-the-climate/previous/state-of-the-climate-2018/australias-changing-climate
[2] https://australian.museum/learn/climate-change/climate-change-impacts/
[3] https://australian.museum/learn/climate-change/climate-change-impacts/
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