• Change text size
• Skip to content

• About us
• Contact us

Search

• Home
  • Atmosphere
  • Biodiversity
  • Coasts and marine
  • Heritage
  • Human settlements
  • Land
  • Living sustainably
  • Parks Australia
  • Water
  • EPBC Act

• SoE
  • About SoE reporting
  • SoE 2011
    • SoE 2011 report
    • SoE 2011 in brief
    • Supplementary material
  • SoE 2006
    • SoE 2006 report
    • SoE 2006 at a glance
    • Theme commentaries
    • Integrative commentaties
    • Current or emerging issues
    • Technical reports
    • Data Reporting System

• SoE 2001
  • Report
  • Key findings
  • Fact sheets
  • Theme reports
  • Technical papers

• • SoE 1996
    • SoE 1996 report
    • Key findings brochure
    • Technical papers
  • Themes
    • Drivers
    • Atmosphere
    • Inland water
    • Land
    • Marine environment
    • Antarctic environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Heritage
    • Built environment
    • Coasts
  • Publications

Regional Air Quality (continued)

Number of local government associations that have programs to monitor and regulate regional air quality [A Indicator 4.16]

State EPAs in Victoria and Queensland have recently introduced regional Air Quality Improvement Plans that target the primary interest groups in each region, including councils. These Plans do not require that councils prepare the air quality plans. Nevertheless, there has been a dramatic growth in councils setting in place air quality improvement actions.

Perhaps the most successful campaign to date is the international Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Program (ALGA 2000) (see also International and national initiatives).

Over 100 councils, representing nearly half of Australia's population, are participating in CCP. The aim is to have 200 councils participating by 2003. The major focus is on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from council activities and from the community. All councils are moving to set in place a goal of 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions against an agreed benchmark.

Some councils with a large manufacturing base in their municipality are also initiating cleaner production and point source pollution control partnerships with local businesses.

At least six local governments have endorsed local action plans covering both community and corporate emissions, and another five have endorsed local action plans relating to the emissions from corporate activity alone.

A new activity of the Australian Local Government Association is the Regional Environmental Indicators Project, a searchable Web-based database of environmental Indicators that aims to catalogue Australian environmental values.

Implications

In most states and territories, local government has neither the responsibility nor the capacity to set air quality monitoring plans.

A better Indicator for this section would be 'The Number of Local Governments involved in Developing or Implementing Regional Air Quality Management Plans'.

• Next
• Contents
• Previous