Australia Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

soil erosion from overgrazing, deforestation, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; limited natural freshwater resources; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; drought, desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; disruption of the fragile ecosystem has resulted in significant floral extinctions; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; overfishing, pollution, and invasive species are also problems

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Land use

agricultural land: 46.65% (2018 est.)

arable land: 4.03% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.04% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 42.58% (2018 est.)

forest: 17.42% (2018 est.)

other: 33.42% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 86.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island

Revenue from forest resources

0.13% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.78% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 8.93 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 375.91 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 105.01 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 13.345 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 5,618,245 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 42.1% (2015 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Alexandrina - 570 sq km

salt water lake(s): Lake Eyre - 9,690 sq km; Lake Torrens (ephemeral) - 5,780 sq km; Lake Gairdner - 4,470 sq km; Lake Mackay (ephemeral) - 3,494 sq km; Lake Frome - 2,410 sq km; Lake Amadeus (ephemeral) - 1,032 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

River Murray - 2,508 km; Darling River - 1,545 km; Murrumbidgee River - 1,485 km; Lachlan River - 1,339 km; Cooper Creek - 1,113 km; Flinders River - 1,004 km

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: (Great Australian Bight) Murray-Darling (1,050,116 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Eyre (1,212,198 sq km)

Major aquifers

Great Artesian Basin, Canning Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 2.29 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 2.89 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 8.57 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

492 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)