08/20/02 -- Australia an Environmental Renegade, Part of "Axis of Ecocide"

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FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY

Australia an Environmental Renegade, Part of "Axis of Ecocide"

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August 20, 2002

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Forests.org

Australia is an environmental renegade with a disgraceful record of

land degradation and climatic impact. Per capita, Australians

generate more greenhouse gases and clear more land than the people of

any other wealthy nation. Together with the United States, Brazil

and Malaysia; Australia is part of the "Axis of Ecocide". The

refusal of these outlaw nations to protect forests and/or to

dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions threatens the Earth's

very existence. Never has the security of the Earth and humanity

been as threatened as it is now, by the obstructionist actions and

unsustainable activities of these ecologically depauperate societies.

All peaceful means - including sanctions, boycotts and other protest

actions - must be pursued to reign in the "Axis of Ecocide". A new

report, "In Reverse", that details Australia's vast ecological crisis

is at: http://www.acfonline.org.au/docs/publications/rpt0027.pdf

g.b.

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ITEM #1

Title: Study: Australia 'a renegade' on environment

Date: August 20, 2002

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- Australia is a laggard and renegade

state when it comes to protecting the environment and is going

backwards on every indicator of environmental health, from pollution

to land clearing, a new report shows.

The report, commissioned by a plethora of green groups, contradicted

recent assertions by the conservative government of Prime Minister

John Howard that it had made great strides in controlling pollution

and promoting sustainable land use.

The official data on which the government based its claim showed the

opposite, said the report, titled "In Reverse" and released on

Monday.

"Over the past decade, Australia has been a continent in reverse,"

said the document, issued to coincide with next week's World Summit

on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"It is going backwards on nearly every indicator of our environmental

health, including the loss of plants and animals, land clearing and

degradation, the condition of Australia's inland waters, and

greenhouse gas emissions.

"Per capita, Australians generate more greenhouse gases and clear

more land than the people of any other wealthy nation.

Internationally, Australia is a laggard state," it said.

The document, which was based on official statistics, blasted the

government for turning a country once regarded as an enthusiastic

participant in international environmental accords into a "recognized

spoiler" and "renegade state."

Siding with the United States and arguing it made no sense without

the inclusion of developing nations such as China, Canberra has

abandoned the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas

emissions blamed for warming temperatures.

It nevertheless said last week that it was on track to meet its Kyoto

target of an eight percent increase in carbon dioxide emissions from

1990 levels by 2012, and that without government intervention,

emissions would have shot up by 22 percent.

Environment Minister David Kemp hit back at the new report, saying it

ignored Australia's "excellent" record on biodiversity, global

warming and whale protection.

"I totally reject the notion that Australia is not being entirely

responsible in an environmental sense and through its environmental

policies, both internationally and domestically," he said on Monday.

The report, backed by the Australian Conservation Foundation,

Australian Council for Overseas Aid and more than a dozen others,

said the government's claims to excellence were overstated.

The statistics actually showed that Australia's carbon dioxide

emissions had increased by 17.4 percent since 1990 and would rise by

a total of 30 percent by 2012.

The report painted a picture of what it called a looming "ecological

crisis" in Australia:

Between 1993 and 2001, the number of extinct, endangered or

vulnerable bird and animal species rose to 160 from 118.

Australia is now fifth behind Brazil, Indonesia, the Congo and

Bolivia in terms of the amount of land cleared annually.

With five percent of the world's land mass, Australia accounts for 19

percent of the earth's soil erosion.

The world's driest continent, Australia nevertheless has one of the

highest levels of per capita water consumption. Between 1993/94 and

1996/97 water use increased by 16 percent.

A top coal exporter, Australia is a major league polluter. It is the

largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases and one of the biggest

per capita consumers of energy.

"These worsening problems highlight the fact that the Australian

economy, structurally and functionally, is ecologically

unsustainable," the report said.

ITEM #2

Title: Australia slammed over environment

Date: August 19, 2002

Australia slammed over environment

Australia is in the grip of a vast ecological crisis caused by

government inaction, a new report on the country's environmental

record has warned.

The report, commissioned by a number of environmental and

conservation groups, describes Australia as being a "continent in

reverse".

It highlights a loss of plants and animal life, the clearing of land,

the degradation of inland waters and the burning of fossil fuels as

major causes of pollution.

The government has dismissed the report.

'Overstated'

The report, entitled In Reverse, contradicts claims by the Australian

Government that it has made considerable improvements in terms of

controlling pollution and promoting sustainable land use.

"Per capita, Australians generate more greenhouse gases and clear

more land than the people of any other wealthy nation," the report

states.

"Internationally, Australia is a laggard state."

The report was written by Melbourne University's Doctor Peter

Christoff to counter the official report due to be presented by the

Australian Government at the World Summit on Sustainable Development

in Johannesburg, South Africa next week.

Dr Christoff says that the government's claims of progress regarding

the environment are overstated. Emissions of greenhouse gases such as

carbon dioxide have risen by 17.4% since 1990, he says, and will rise

by a total of 30% by 2012.

The Australian Government, in a report issued last week, said that

emissions will rise by only 11% by 2012.

The government's calculations include projected figures for carbon

sequestration - absorbing carbon dioxide from the air through

planting trees - and stopping deforestation.

Many environmental scientists believe it is not valid to rely on such

measures to reduce global warming.

Dr Christoff's report also says that the number of extinct,

endangered or vulnerable bird and animal species has risen from 118

in 1993 to 160 in 2001, and warns that the country is now fifth in

the list of countries accounting for the amount of land cleared

annually.

Kyoto controversy

However the Australian Government has hit back at the report's

statistics, with Environment Minister David Kemp saying that it had

an "excellent" record on environmental issues.

"I totally reject the notion that Australia is not being entirely

responsible in an environmental sense and through its environmental

policies, both internationally and domestically," he told Reuters

news agency on Monday.

Australia has faced criticism on its environmental record before,

when in June Prime Minister John Howard refused to sign the Kyoto

pact on climate control, which aims at cutting production of

greenhouse gases blamed for warming the atmosphere.

Mr Howard said he agreed with the US opinion that the agreement was

worthless unless developing nations such as China - a large producer

of pollutant gases - were also included.

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