The Australian government has just submitted a report to the United Nations on its progress to stop biodiversity loss by 2030. The Biodiversity Council has reviewed the 261 page report and says Australia is not on track to meet key commitments, including preventing extinctions, restoring degraded land and stopping government funding for activities that harm nature.
Australia is one of 196 countries that committed to 23 targets to halt and reverse nature loss this decade under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The government has self-assessed itself as on track to meet most of the targets in the report, but the Biodiversity Council — an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities — says the report paints an unjustifiably optimistic picture of Australia’s environmental progress.
Environmental policy expert Paul Elton at The Australian National University said, ‘The report’s overwhelmingly positive self-assessment is difficult to reconcile with what is happening on the ground.
‘A contributor to this mismatch is that the Australian government has rated itself as “on track” based on a promise of announcements that may address targets, even if there has been no on-ground progress.
‘For some targets, the government claims it is on track simply because it plans to develop a plan in the future. Many targets have been rated as on track, even where there is no data, or there is data that contradicts the assessment.’
Spin over substance
Biodiversity Council Lead Councillor Professor Hugh Possingham from the University of Queensland said, ‘Disappointing positive public relations spin gets in the way of the serious work needed to address the threat of nature loss.
‘We need nature for our own health, water supply, food production, and even big parts of the economy are very dependent on nature. Until governments are honest about the scale of the funding and action required to halt biodiversity loss, and close that gap, Australia’s nature will continue to decline.’
Biodiversity Council Policy and Innovation Lead Lis Ashy said, ‘The Australian government’s claim that it is on track to achieve no new extinctions is unrealistic.
‘Our threatened species remain in a perilous state, with population numbers halving in abundance since 2000. Many species are going extinct every year before they are even recognised by science.
‘If the government were serious about preventing extinctions, it would implement recovery plans for all nationally listed threatened species and commit adequate long-term funding for the Saving Native Species Fund — greater than $2 billion per year is needed.’
Funding destruction
Ending government financial support for activities that harm nature, like fossil fuel mining projects, is one of the 23 targets.
But according to Paul Elton who has led research on this topic, ‘The government has side-stepped the target to reduce government financial support for activities that harm nature.
‘Our research found the Australian government provides $26.3 billion per year in biodiversity-harming subsidies. That is 4 per cent of the federal budget and 25 times what it spends on helping nature.
‘The government has falsely claimed that subsidies for fossil fuel production and use are not within scope.
‘Fossil fuel subsidies, which include tax breaks and rebates for mining companies, cost tax payers $14.1 billion per year and harm the environment by enabling resource extraction and accelerating climate change.’
Australia’s State of the Environment Report found that our environment is in poor condition and deteriorating. The national list of plants and animals threatened with extinction now stands at 2,208 species.
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