RIO+20 OUTCOMES FOR AUSTRALIA
Contents
Rio+20 Outcomes for Australia ................................................................................................. 2
Key outcomes and deliverables ................................................................................................ 2
Oceans ................................................................................................................................. 3
Sustainable development goals and broader measures of progress ..................................... 4
Indigenous peoples ............................................................................................................... 5
Mining ................................................................................................................................... 6
Gender equality .................................................................................................................... 6
Food security ........................................................................................................................ 8
Disaster risk reduction .......................................................................................................... 8
Additional Outcomes for Implementation ................................................................................ 10
Forests and biodiversity ...................................................................................................... 10
Water and sanitation ........................................................................................................... 10
Institutional framework for sustainable development ........................................................... 12
Trade .................................................................................................................................. 12
A 'land degradation neutral' world ....................................................................................... 13
Energy ................................................................................................................................ 14
Sustainable tourism ............................................................................................................ 15
Sustainable transport .......................................................................................................... 16
Sustainable cities and human settlements .......................................................................... 16
Employment ........................................................................................................................ 17
Chemicals and waste .......................................................................................................... 18
Education............................................................................................................................ 19
Technology ......................................................................................................................... 20
Helping our partner countries .............................................................................................. 21
RIO+20 OUTCOMES FOR AUSTRALIA
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) was held in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012. The conference was attended by 79 heads of
state or heads of government, including Prime Minister the Hon. Julia Gillard, along with tens
of thousands of participants and representatives from governments, the private sector, non
government organisations and other groups.
Rio+20 marked the 20th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and
the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. It was an opportunity to re-direct and re-energise
political commitment to the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth,
social improvement and environmental protection.
World Leaders attended Rio+20 to consider a broad range of sustainable development issues
covering the two conference themes: a green economy in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication, and the institutional framework for sustainable
development.
The Australian Government delegation to Rio+20 drew on the input of thousands of people
and groups who contributed their ideas to the zero draft through discussions, workshops and
roundtables in the lead up to the conference.
At Rio+20 commitments of more than $500 billion in funding were made through the
Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Added to this, the outcomes document The
Future We Want, adopted by leaders on 22 June 2012, establishes a credible forward agenda
for sustainable development.
Australia supported a range of initiatives and text during negotiations on the outcomes
document and Australia’s priority areas are all well represented in the outcomes document,
including strong outcomes on the sustainable management of oceans, indigenous peoples,
gender equality, food security, sustainable development goals, mining and disaster risk
reduction. Australia is already undertaking a substantial amount of work in these areas both
domestically and internationally. Recently, for example, the Australian Government released
the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, which considered issues relating to
environmental sustainability, sustainable agriculture and food businesses, having a
multicultural society, Closing the Gap with Indigenous Australians and building sustainable
security in the Asia region.
KEY OUTCOMES AND DELIVERABLES
Rio+20 produced practical outcomes that set a credible forward agenda for sustainable
development. The Future We Want covers a wide range of themes and issues, including those
that were a priority for Australia’s negotiators and many where Australia is already undertaking
work.
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Oceans
At Rio+20 leaders committed to protect and restore the health, productivity and resilience of
oceans and marine ecosystems, including to take action on marine protected areas; to
eliminate fisheries subsidies; to restore fish stocks; to tackle marine pollution and alien
invasive species; and to address the challenges of sea level rise and coastal erosion, ocean
acidification, illegal and unregulated fishing, and marine debris. In many of these areas
Australia has already taken strong action, and in others is committed to making further
progress.
Australia, the world’s largest island nation, has created the largest representative network of
marine protected areas in the world. Ecosystems, habitats and marine life in 3.1 million square
kilometres of ocean will be protected for current and future generations. Australia is protecting
marine life that doesn’t exist anywhere else on earth, and Australia is also providing support to
other countries in the region to establish and effectively manage their protected areas.
Australia continues to meet its obligations at the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
relating to protection of the marine environment. Legislation has been developed to strengthen
measures to prevent pollution by garbage from ships and Australia is also engaged in the
region to address sources of marine debris in the nation’s marine environment through forums
such as the Arafura and Timor Seas Ecosystem Action project. Australia is also moving
towards ratification of the IMO’s Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast
Water and Sediments, which aims to help avoid the infiltration of alien invasive species into
our waters.
Australia is working hard on efforts to maintain fish stocks at levels that can produce maximum
sustainable yield, through the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and
Guidelines and via ongoing engagement with regional fisheries management organisations.
Australia works with regional partners under the Regional Plan of Action to Promote
Responsible Fishing Practices to work towards the elimination of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing.
The Australian Government is advocating for the elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies that
contribute to over-fishing and overcapacity. It will continue to promote and support practical
actions to conserve high seas biodiversity through competent regional and international
organisations and by working with Pacific and Indian Ocean states, particularly through the
Pacific Oceanscape Framework.
Australia is proud to host and support the Indian Ocean office of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC)–the United Nations body for ocean science, ocean
observatories, ocean data and information exchange, and ocean services such as tsunami
warning systems. The commission promotes international cooperation and coordinates efforts
to learn more about the nature and resources of the oceans and coastal areas. This
knowledge is used to improve management, sustainable development and protection of the
marine environment across the globe, as well as in Australia.
Australia welcomes the outcome at Rio+20 for member states to commit to making a decision
on the development of an international instrument under the United Nations Convention on the
Law Of the Sea 1982, for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas
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beyond national jurisdiction, before the end of the 69th session of the United Nations General
Assembly. Australia will remain actively involved in the work of the UN General Assembly’s Ad
Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and
sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction. Australia
views the forward process as an opportunity for constructive open dialogue between member
states to further explore and build the case for, and the potential scope of, an implementing
agreement.
Through the Australian Climate Change Science Program, Australia is investing in research to
understand how climate change is and will impact on our oceans. Australian researchers
monitor the ocean around Australia, including the Southern Ocean, and have observed
changes to ocean currents, salinity and acidity. This research will ensure more informed
industry, community and government decisions.
Sustainable development goals and broader measures of progress
Rio+20 recognised the potential for a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) to drive
action on sustainable development. The outcomes document contains guiding principles and
countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental working group under the United Nations
General Assembly to develop the SDGs.
Australia looks forward to working with other countries to develop SDGs, including possible
targets and indicators, and how these will link to the post-2015 development agenda.
Australia’s experience in developing indicators to measure domestic sustainability will be
useful in the post-Rio+20 process.
Rio+20 also agreed that broader measures of progress, beyond gross domestic product, are
needed to better inform policy decisions. The United Nations Statistical Commission, in
consultation with relevant UN entities and other relevant organisations, will launch a program
of work to determine broader measures of progress to complement gross domestic product,
building on existing initiatives.
Australia has a Minister for Sustainability and a sustainable population strategy–Sustainable
Australia, Sustainable Communities–that looks at all the issues around how and where we live,
work and play, and what we need to do to ensure a sustainable future. As part of that process
the government has developed a set of sustainability indicators for Australia that will deliver
improved information on social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. Regular
reports against the indicators will highlight key trends and emerging issues to support decision
making and planning at national and community levels.
The Australian Government will continue to be actively engaged in efforts to develop and
implement broader-based measures of progress, both domestically and internationally,
including the program of work to be led by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was the first national statistical organisation to move on
this concept, releasing the inaugural edition of the Measures of Australia’s Progress
framework in 2002. The framework displays progress measures for key areas of interest side
by side, to allow the public to assess whether life in Australia is getting better.
The ABS has recently undertaken national consultation to review Measures of Australia's
Progress (MAP), ensuring it remains relevant to today's society–that we are measuring what
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Australian society cares about. The outcomes of this consultation will be used to develop a
refreshed framework for measuring progress by the end of 2013. This new framework is likely
to contain a fourth domain of governance, in addition to the current MAP domains of society,
economy and environment.
Indigenous peoples
Rio+20 agreed to reaffirm the value of biodiversity, and recognise the important contribution
indigenous peoples and local communities make to its conservation and sustainable use and
the merits of further sharing this traditional knowledge, innovation and practices.
At Rio+20 Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the development of an International
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Land and Sea Managers Network. An inaugural
International Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Land and Sea Managers
Conference will be held in Darwin in May 2013 to develop the network with partners from
across the globe. The international network will provide an avenue for indigenous peoples and
local communities across the world to build relationships and share their experiences in using
contemporary and traditional knowledge to better manage the environment and support
sustainable livelihoods.
Australia is committed to addressing the significant gap between Australia’s Indigenous and
non-Indigenous population in terms of life expectancy, education, health and employment.
Through the Council of Australian Government’s Closing the Gap Strategy, all governments
have committed to overcome the disadvantage experienced by many Indigenous Australians,
by directing coordinated efforts by all governments across a range of key policy areas.
Closing the Gap also acknowledges that Indigenous culture, which includes the importance of
connection to country, is critical for emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
The Australian Government has invested in a number of innovative programs recognising that
protecting the environment is a shared responsibility. We have seen an opportunity to link this
with efforts to support Indigenous people, particularly in regional and remote areas, to work
towards a better future. One of the Australian Government’s priorities is to support people to
work on and protect their country, leading to better conservation of biological diversity and
sustainable use of natural resources, as well as improved social cohesion, health outcomes
and economic opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Our
initiatives include the Working on Country Indigenous Rangers program, the Indigenous
Protected Areas program, the Indigenous Carbon Farming Fund and Caring for our Country.
The work of the Indigenous rangers brings together western science and Indigenous
ecological knowledge for the effective environmental management of land and sea country.
We are also investing in protecting our natural and cultural heritage and we now have a
National Reserve System to protect and conserve examples of our natural landscapes and
native plants and animals for future generations. These programs not only enable Indigenous
people to maintain their cultural obligation to care for country they also provide employment,
training, education and business opportunities. In this way they make a significant ongoing
contribution to Closing the Gap in Indigenous disadvantage. These initiatives are already
benefiting Indigenous Australians, their families and communities.
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Mining
The Australian Government is ensuring that mining is a catalyst for broad based economic and
social development, by working with the mining sector to lift social and environmental
responsibility and accountability and transparency as an aid to sustainable economic
development through a range of initiatives including:
 promoting the Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry,
which provides the mining sector with practical guidance on how to improve the
sustainability in mining along many aspects of the supply chain
 developing a national Multiple Land Use Framework to help reduce the scope for conflict
between resources, agricultural, environment and local community interests, which
maximises the net benefits of multiple land use for present and future generations
 ensuring communities have greater confidence in coal seam gas (CSG) projects through
the establishment of an Independent Expert Scientific Committee to advise government
about relevant CSG and large coal mining approvals where they have significant impacts
on water resources
 developing a harmonised CSG regulatory framework to ensure sustainable development of
this sector through the application of leading practice regulation
 establishing a Memorandum of Understanding on Indigenous employment and enterprise
development, which is a key conduit for collaboration between Australian Government
agencies and the Minerals Council of Australia
 applying the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which is aimed at resourceendowed nations and funded to promote a global standard for verification and publication
of material company payments and revenues from mining, oil and gas.
 reforming the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to deliver
better environmental outcomes, and help increase certainty and reduce regulatory burden
for industry.
Gender equality
Rio+20 reaffirmed the world’s commitment to women’s equal rights, including in economic and
political decision making, and committed to removing barriers to the equal participation of
women in sustainable development. Rio+20 agreed to promote equal access by women and
girls to education, health care services, and economic opportunities and to ensure universal
access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning.
At Rio+20 Australia showcased its credentials on gender equality and women’s empowerment
through Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s participation in the United Nations Women Leaders
Forum organised by UN Women. Ms Gillard joined with other women heads of state and
government to sign The Future Women Want: A Call to Action that included policy
recommendations for integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment into all
sustainable development frameworks. Australia worked to ensure that these principals were
included in the Rio +20 outcome document.
Legislative reform in Australia will drive the removal of barriers to women’s full and equal
participation in the workforce. The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 is
being significantly amended to address systemic inequalities in the workplace. The new
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Workplace Gender Equality Act will cover both women and men, highlighting the importance of
balancing work and caring responsibilities as well as equal remuneration.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status,
pregnancy, potential pregnancy, breastfeeding or family responsibilities in many areas of
public life. These include work, education, provision of goods and services, accommodation,
land, clubs and administration of Commonwealth laws and programs. The Act also prohibits
sexual harassment.
The Australian Government is committed to achieving a minimum of 40 per cent
representation of women and 40 per cent men on Australian Government boards by 2015. At
30 June 2012, the percentage of women on Australian Government boards was 38.4 per cent–
an all-time high.
The Australian Government has also funded a second round of the Australian Institute of
Company Directors Board Diversity Scholarship program, which offers 70 full-fee scholarships
for high performing women to undertake leadership courses.
The ABS’s Gender Indicators, Australia collects sex-disaggregated data in six major areas of
social concern for gender equality, which aids government policy and decision making in this
space. The ABS is a member of the United National Economic Commission for Europe
taskforce on indicators of gender equality and provides input into internationally comparable
indicators to monitor changes in gender equality over time and across countries.
Australia’s Global Ambassador for Women and Girls will continue to advocate for gender
equality, including the essential role of women in sustainable development and economic
progress as leaders, participants and agents of change, and ensure this is central to
Australia’s diplomatic and development endeavours.
Other initiatives that contribute to gender equality include:
 funding research into the pay gap between male and female graduates
 the development of a second National Workplace Development Strategy including funding
consultations on women’s participation in the labour force
 the commitment of $3.6 million for six, three-year National Women’s Alliances to ensure
perspectives of women, particularly those from marginalised and disadvantaged groups,
are heard in addressing policy issues that affect women
 support for the YWCA’s Every Girl program which helps girls aged between nine and 14
from disadvantaged communities build self-esteem and leadership abilities
 gender equality in policy training for the Australian Public Service
 sports leadership grants and scholarships for women, and other grants supporting women
in the community sector and in male dominated industries
 making anti-discrimination law simpler and easier to understand by consolidating
Commonwealth law into a single Act
 being a founding member of the Equal Futures Partnership–a US-led initiative that invites
international partners to expand economic opportunities for women and to increase
women’s participation in politics and civil society
 the commitment of all Australian governments to the National Plan to Reduce Violence
against Women and their Children 2010-22.
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In relation to family planning, new, publicly available, national, evidence-based guidelines for
antenatal care will provide advice for health professionals involved in managing the care of
healthy pregnant women, and guidance on referral for the care of those women at greater risk.
The National Women's Health Policy aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all women in
Australia and the National Family Planning Program aims to coordinate national family
planning efforts, which allow individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired
number of children through the use of contraceptive methods and the prevention and
treatment of involuntary infertility.
Food security
Rio+20 reaffirmed the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food
and the need to promote, enhance and support sustainable agriculture. The Australian
Government is developing a National Food Plan which will address improving food security
including access to adequate, safe and nutritious food.
The Rural Research and Development Policy Statement will improve the research,
development and education system to drive greater productivity growth and address
sustainable resource management issues.
Australia also releases timely and quality food market information through the regular
publication of data on Australia’s agricultural sector by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural
and Resource Economics and Sciences.
The Australian International Food Security Centre leverages Australia’s unique agricultural and
scientific expertise to help African countries strengthen their agricultural practices and
Australia will also support the AgResults initiative, which was announced at the last G20
meeting in Mexico.
Australia is also actively engaged in another G20 initiative, the Agricultural Market Information
System, which provides timely global food market alerts to price surges and establishes a
forum to discuss effective policy responses to market developments (the Rapid Response
Forum).
Disaster risk reduction
Rio+20 called for the commitment of adequate, timely and predictable resources to disaster
risk reduction (DRR), for DRR to be integrated into national strategies and plans, and for
enhanced international coordination and cooperation.
On the home front, Australian governments agreed in 2011 to a National Strategy for Disaster
Resilience–a new whole-of-nation, resilience based approach to natural disaster policy and
programs. The strategy recognises that a disaster resilient community is one that works
together to understand and manage risks that it confronts. Key priorities include initiatives to
improve community awareness and understanding of disaster risk; promotion of the benefits of
business continuity planning by small and medium enterprises; enhanced partnerships
between government, business and community sectors to promote resilience; measures to
reduce risk in the built environment; and better capabilities to support disaster resilience.
Initiatives include completing disaster risk assessments of priority hazards by all jurisdictions,
and the use of these assessments in informing key decisions and planning; developing and
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publishing more, and improved, flood risk mapping and modelling data for community and
business use; and improving land use planning controls to manage key hazards in the natural
environment.
The strategy recognises that Australian communities need to be empowered to take a shared
responsibility in preparing for and responding to disasters. Communities will be more
successful in becoming resilient if all sectors of society work together with a united focus and a
shared sense of responsibility–it is far more effective than any one sector working alone. Key
information should be communicated in a manner appropriate to the audience, and should
consider the different needs, interests and technologies used within the communities.
Through the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (a partnership between
CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology) the bureau (BoM) applies its capability in research
and modelling to support forecasting of high impact national weather and climate hazards
including storms and flash floods, tropical cyclones, bushfire weather, intra-seasonal to
seasonal rainfall and temperature extremes and forecast and warning system development.
Work is continuing on developing best practice use of social media in disasters (including for
information dissemination, warning, gathering situational awareness and myth-busting at the
time of a disaster) and monitoring technological advancements for their implications for
warning delivery mechanisms.
Emergency warning systems are integrated into DRR strategies and plans. Emergency Alert
and other warning mechanisms are underpinned by the National Strategy for Disaster
Resilience, emergency management arrangements and legislation, national warning
principles, and state and territory policies, practices and standard operating procedures.
Australian governments will also continue to enhance the national telephone-based
emergency warning capability through the implementation of a mobile telephone locationbased solution. This will enable geographically targeted messages to be sent to the last known
location of the mobile phone handset at the time of the disaster.
The BoM is Australia's national early warning provider and has close day-to-day working
relationships with emergency management authorities across all jurisdictions both in planning
for and during operational events across a spectrum of hazards, including floods. It also
participates in whole-of-government response and planning arrangements at a federal level.
The BoM provides seasonal climate and stream flow forecasts each month that can provide an
early indication of likely climate or hydrologic conditions that may exacerbate the likelihood of
extremes such as bushfire, flood, or tropical cyclones. Monitoring of extreme events, including
their long-term trends, is another important service. The Australian Government (the BoM and
Geoscience Australia) continues to operate the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre and
integrates emergency warning systems into DRR strategies and plans.
The BoM contributes to disaster risk reduction capacity building of Pacific nations’ weather
services, through forecaster training, forecaster support, computer software development and
implementation of more robust and sustainable warning systems to enhance weather and
warning capability. It also contributes to the development of seasonal forecasting and ocean
climate services, including sea level monitoring, in the Pacific.
Through the Australian Climate Change Science Program, the Centre for Australian Weather
and Climate Research is investigating what impact climate change will have on the frequency,
intensity, extent and duration of extreme weather events. An increase in fire weather has been
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observed in many south-eastern Australia locations, while an increase in hot days has been
attributed to climate change.
ADDITIONAL OUTCOMES FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Forests and biodiversity
Rio+20 stressed the importance of integrating sustainable forest management objectives and
practices into mainstream economic policy and decision making. Australia already has a
comprehensive framework designed to achieve the conservation and sustainable
management of its forests including:
 a national policy framework–Australia’s National Forest Policy Statement 1992–that
promotes the conservation and sustainable management of forests
 20-year regional forest agreements that underpin regional approaches to balance
conservation and production from native forests
 Australia's Sustainable Forest Management Framework of Criteria and Indicators 2008
that is an internationally recognised framework for sustainable forest management applied
to Australia’s forests
 state and territory frameworks–jurisdictional legislation and codes of practice that are
applied to ensure environmentally responsible forestry practices
 independent third party forest certification to credible forest management standards which
apply to most of Australia’s production forests
 five yearly reports to the Australian public on the state of Australia’s forests.
The Australian Government will work with state governments to renew existing regional forest
agreements as part of the third five-year reviews of each Regional Forest Agreement. The
renewal mechanism will aim to improve auditing and monitoring of sustainable forestry
outcomes and well as the timeliness of reviews. Also on forest policy, national legislation is
being introduced to prohibit the importation and sale of timber and timber products containing
illegally logged wood. Importers and domestic producers will have two years from
commencement of the legislation to establish their systems and processes for demonstrating
due diligence.
Water and sanitation
Rio+20 recognised that water is at the core of sustainable development and reaffirmed
commitments regarding the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. Countries also
committed to significantly improve the implementation of integrated water resource
management, including halving by 2015 the proportion of people without access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation; adopting measures to address floods, droughts and water
scarcity; and addressing the balance between water supply and demand.
Australian governments manage water quality under the National Water Quality Management
Strategy, which aims to achieve sustainable use of the nation’s water resources by protecting
and enhancing their quality while maintaining economic and social development. The strategy
provides quantitative benchmarks and management frameworks to manage water quality
sustainably for both human and ecological needs.
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An important component of the strategy is the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, which
were updated in 2011 and are subject to rolling review. The strategy also provides advice and
guidance on planning and management to reduce water pollution and increase water quality.
Australia also has a specific strategy on water and wastewater services in remote (including
Indigenous) communities. It focuses on providing sustainable, secure and safe water supplies
and wastewater services in remote and Indigenous communities; providing a level of service
that meets the regulatory standards that would apply to any other community of similar size
and location; and encouraging responsible use of water and, where appropriate, water
conservation.
The National Urban Water and Desalination Plan provides funding for urban water
infrastructure to improve the security of water supplies in Australia’s larger cities, without
adding to greenhouse gas emissions. The urban water projects funded include desalination
projects, water recycling projects, two centres of excellence and 43 stormwater and reuse
projects.
The Commonwealth Water Act 2007 provides for the holistic management of water resources
of the Murray-Darling Basin through a plan that will limit water use to a level that is
environmentally sustainable. This will ensure that basin water resources are managed in an
integrated and sustainable way in the national interest, giving effect to international
agreements. The plan was finalised in 2012 and will be progressively implemented over a
seven year period to 2019, allowing communities and industries time to adjust to reduced
water availability. Investment in on- and off-farm infrastructure irrigation efficiency works and
strategic water recovery through the market helps communities to adjust, reduce consumptive
use to sustainable levels and return water to the environment and to restore river, wetland,
floodplain and ecosystem health.
The Australian Government is investing more than $9 billion directly in the basin through the
Water for the Future program. It has committed to bridge the gap between current and
sustainable diversion limits. The government is working with basin states to remove barriers to
water trade, and develop a National Water Market System that will assist in the efficient
management of water registry, transaction and market information functions. Priorities will be
delivered through a 10-year investment in strategic programs, improved water management
arrangements, and a renewed commitment to deliver a range of water policy reforms in both
rural and urban areas.
The National Water Initiative, agreed in 2004 by the Council of Australian Governments, is
Australia’s national blueprint for water reform and a shared commitment by governments to
increase the efficiency of Australia's water use. Commitments include preparing water plans
with provision for the environment, dealing with over-allocated or stressed water systems,
introducing registers of water rights and standards for water accounting and trading, and
meeting and managing urban water demands.
Australia, through the BoM’s flood forecasting and warning service, uses rainfall and stream
flow observations, numerical weather predictions and hydrologic models to forecast and warn
for possible flood events across each state and territory in collaboration with state and local
government agencies. Drought conditions are monitored and seasonal forecasts provide
guidance on their likely evolution.
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Institutional framework for sustainable development
Rio+20 decided to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development with a new high level
political forum. The high level forum will be established through negotiations under the UN
General Assembly. Rio+20 set an aim of holding the first forum by the beginning of the 68th
session of the UN General Assembly (September 2013).
Rio+20 also agreed to strengthen the role of the UN’s Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) by ensuring it is the main integrating mechanism for sustainable development.
Rio+20 also agreed that the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) would also be strengthened
and upgraded, through the deliberations of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly and
the 27th UNEP Governing Council.
Australia is committed to seeing a strengthened multilateral system that will more effectively
govern sustainable development and looks forward to working with member states and other
parties to achieve agreement on the best possible solutions for strengthening the current
institutional framework.
Australia will develop its position on the form and functions of the high-level political forum and
upgrade to UNEP in the coming months and will continue to engage in the intergovernmental
negotiation process under the UN General Assembly.
Trade
Rio+20 reaffirmed the positive role international trade, trade liberalisation and the multilateral
trade system can play in relation to sustainable development. It urged World Trade
Organization (WTO) members to redouble efforts to conclude an ambitious, balanced and
development-oriented conclusion to the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, and
Rio+20 participants undertook to remain focused on achieving progress on important trade
issues such trade-distorting subsidies and trade in environmental goods and services.
The Australian Government strongly endorses this Rio+20 commitment and will continue to
take an active role internationally on these issues. Australia is strongly committed to advancing
global trade reform and liberalisation, and to an approach which maximises the benefits for the
entire global community. Australia has been vocal in promoting the need for ‘new pathways’ to
achieve an outcome in the Doha negotiations. The proposed approach includes the round
being broken into more manageable components with a view to early implementation of those
elements close to completion and the possibility of pursuing plurilateral (or multi-country)
negotiations on other aspects where feasible.
Australia has also been active in advocating the freeing up of international trade in
environmental goods and services, including in the WTO. Australia played a central role in a
landmark achievement on environmental goods in APEC. APEC Leaders at their September
2012 meeting in Vladivostok endorsed a commitment to reduce tariffs for 54 environmental
goods to no more than five per cent by the end of 2015. Australia is also active in advocating
reform to fisheries subsidies in international forums. For further information on Australia’s
policy on the WTO see www.dfat.gov.au
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A 'land degradation neutral' world
Rio+20 recognised the need for urgent action to reverse land degradation. Australia continues
to deliver domestic policies and programs to combat desertification and land degradation.
Caring for our Country provides funding to groups to help farmers and land managers adopt
more sustainable farm management practices that reduce the risk of soil acidification and
erosion, build soil carbon and improve groundcover. For example, the sustainable agriculture
stream of the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country initiative invests in activities to
improve soil and land management through research, development and extension, on-ground
activities and improved data and information collection.
Caring for our Country also invests in a range of projects to measure changes in soil condition
resulting from improved management practices and to identify where further investment in
practice improvement is needed. Examples include:
 Wind erosion: Contributions to Dustwatch, a community research project to monitor dust
transport and wind erosion across Australia. Funding has also been provided to prepare
wind erosion histories that provide a wind erosion record since 1960 for selected sites
across Australia and to model and report on monthly net soil loss from wind erosion.
http://nrmonline.nrm.gov.au/catalog/mql:2237
 Water erosion: Investment into an examination of options for future monitoring of water
erosion.
 Soil carbon decline: Development of methods for monitoring carbon levels across
Australia. http://nrmonline.nrm.gov.au/catalog/mql:2566
 Soil acidification: Development of methods for monitoring soil pH across Australia.
http://nrmonline.nrm.gov.au/catalog/mql:2566
The Australian Government is working with state and territory agencies and the CSIRO to
develop a national capability to monitor and report on ground cover in the rangelands to help
improve the sustainability and productivity of the grazing industry and to help reduce risk of
soil loss through wind and water erosion.
Through initiatives such as the Agricultural Resource Management Survey and the Land
Management Practices Survey, the ABS collects data on selected land management practices
to monitor the effects of drought and related adverse land conditions, as well as to inform
national and regional policy development and analysis, for the Australian Government.
To support development of regional data, a variety of sub-national and sub-state/territory
geographic outputs are available for many ABS publications. The ABS is also able to support
outputs for custom regions, in response to an emerging data need, such as Murray-Darling
Basin regions. The BoM currently produces a drought monitoring product
(http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/#tabs=0) based on rainfall deficiencies and issued on
a monthly basis when there are significant areas experiencing rainfall deficiencies.
The Australian Government delivers the Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment (LEBRA). The
LEBRA is a monitoring program designed to gain an understanding of, and report on, the
condition of watercourses and catchments in the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB). The monitoring
program involves hydrological, water quality and fish data collection from a number of sites
across the LEB. Over time, this data can help determine which waterholes retain water and
whether these are important ecological refuges during drought, and whether fish species have
been able to repopulate areas following floods.
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The ABS’s rural environment and agriculture survey program aligns with recommendations
from the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics
(http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ess/documents/meetings_and_workshops/ICAS5/Ag_
Statistics_Strategy_Final.pdf). These recommendations are for international collection of
agricultural and related environment data. The ABS will continue to collect agricultural data
and maintain a flexible program to ensure the ability to provide benchmark data to inform
environmentally sustainable agricultural practices policy.
Also internationally, the Pacific Climate Change Science Program, managed by DCCEE and
delivered by CSIRO and BoM in partnership with national meteorological services, is assisting
14 Pacific island countries and East Timor gain a better understanding of climate trends in the
region and how the climate is likely to change in the future. For further information see
www.pacificclimatechangescience.org
Energy
Rio+20 emphasised the need to promote sustainable modern energy services for all and
urged governments to create enabling environments to facilitate investment in cleaner energy
technologies.
Australia supports an energy mix which includes renewable energy and other low-emission
technologies, more efficient energy use, greater reliance on advanced energy technologies
and the sustainable use of traditional energy resources.
Central to the Australian Government’s plan for a clean energy future is the introduction of a
price on carbon. This will drive innovation and investment worth billions of dollars in renewable
energy, assisted by the Renewable Energy Target scheme, designed to ensure that at least
20 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
Another key element of the plan for a clean energy future is the Clean Energy Finance
Corporation, a $10 billion activity, which seeks to facilitate greater private sector investment in
renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-pollution technology. The Australian Renewable
Energy Agency, a $3.2 billion initiative, will also encourage investment in renewable energy
technologies by improving their competitiveness and increasing supply in Australia.
Australia also encourages businesses to invest in clean energy technologies through the $1.2
billion Clean Technology Innovation Program. Support for carbon capture and storage
technologies also continues, with funding of more than $2 billion for research, development
and large-scale deployment.
Initiatives that are driving energy efficiency in Australia include:
 the Commercial Building Disclosure program, a national initiative that obligates owners of
large commercial buildings (of greater than 2000 m2 office space) to disclose their
building’s energy efficiency to prospective buyers or tenants at the point of sale, lease or
sublease
 national building efficiency standards which require all new buildings to be built to
minimum performance standards
 reductions in energy consumption of Australian Government operations with particular
emphasis on building energy efficiency
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the Green Lease Schedule, which sets a minimum ongoing operational building energy
performance standard measured by the National Australian Built Environment Rating
Scheme
appliance and equipment minimum energy performance standards designed to remove the
most inefficient products from the market while supporting mandatory energy rating
labelling to allow consumers to make informed decisions
the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program, which requires companies and electricity
generators that use more than 0.5 petajoules of energy a year to assess their energy use
and identify opportunities for energy savings–these opportunities must be reported publicly
and to government and require sign off from the company board
the Community Energy Efficiency program, which will provide matched funding to local
councils and non-profit community organisations to undertake energy efficiency upgrades
and retrofits to council and community-use buildings, facilities and lighting
the Low Income Energy Efficiency Program, which will provide grants to government,
business and community organisations to trial approaches to improve the energy efficiency
of low income households and enable them to better manage their energy use
CO2 emissions standards for light vehicles: this mandatory standard will set a national
target for average carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre driven
Low Carbon Australia Limited which encourages the take-up and use of energy-efficient
technologies and practices. Through its energy efficiency program, Low Carbon Australia
co-invests to stimulate private sector investment in projects within the manufacturing and
industry sectors and for energy efficiency retrofits of existing non-residential buildings.
Australia continues to ensure world’s best practice in energy efficiency policy design, primarily
in relation to appliance, equipment and lighting efficiency. This has helped Australia to actively
influence the development of global appliance and lighting standards, and the harmonisation
of standards for testing of energy efficiency of appliances and equipment.
Indigenous communities are also supported through the $40 million Remote Indigenous
Energy Program, which will help them access a clean, affordable and reliable 24-hour power
supply.
Sustainable tourism
Rio+20 agreed to support sustainable tourism activities and relevant capacity-building
programs which promote environmental awareness; conserve and protect the environment;
respect wildlife, flora, biodiversity, ecosystems and cultural diversity; and improve the welfare
and livelihoods of local communities.
Australia’s National Landscapes program is a unique tourism and conservation partnership
managed by Tourism Australia and Parks Australia that provides a framework to consider
tourism infrastructure, conservation and marketing in a united way. This encourages
collaboration and partnerships, and brings together the tourism industry and conservation
sectors to improve environmental, social and economic outcomes for each area. The program
not only promotes Australia's world class visitor experiences and enhances the value of
tourism to regional economies, but also increases the role of protected areas in those
economies and builds support for protecting our natural and cultural assets.
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The Australian Government will continue to support Indigenous tourism development to deliver
Indigenous employment outcomes (including training and development opportunities), product
development, and businesses skills development through:
 the T-QUAL Strategic Tourism Investment Grants Program which focuses on Indigenous
tourism, economic development and tourism employment and will assist Indigenous
tourism operators to achieve economic, social and environmental outcomes
 the Indigenous Tourism Champions Program, which provides a framework for the selective
marketing of Indigenous owned businesses which have met a set of criteria, ensuring that
the businesses being promoted by Tourism Australia can meet the needs and expectations
of trade and the international markets.
Sustainable transport
Rio+20 agreed to the development of sustainable transport systems, including energy efficient
multi-modal transport systems, as well as international support to developing countries for the
creation of sustainable transport systems.
The Australian Government is making record investments in transport infrastructure under its
$36 billion Nation Building Program, which includes substantial investments in public transport
systems. The benefits of this investment program are being enhanced by improved project
assessment (including of environmental impacts and initiatives to introduce additional smart
infrastructure).
Australian Government transport policies and programs include a 10 year National Road
Safety Strategy, the introduction in 2015 of carbon dioxide emissions standards for new light
vehicles, the implementation of a National Aviation White Paper that includes initiatives to
reduce aviation’s contribution to climate change and minimise the impacts of aircraft noise,
national ports and freight strategies, and more efficient regulation through the replacement of
23 transport regulators with three national regulators. Legislation regulates the quality of
transport fuels supplied in Australia, to reduce the adverse effects of motor vehicle emissions
on air quality and human health and to enable Australia to effectively adopt new vehicle engine
and emission control technologies.
The government will continue to focus on sustainable transport through its Nation Building
program, the construction of intermodal terminals to improve the efficiency of freight handling,
and a study into high speed rail. These will be complemented by ongoing programs to assist
countries in our region to improve road safety and transport security.
Sustainable cities and human settlements
Rio+20 agreed to promote an integrated approach to planning and building sustainable cities
and urban settlements, and increase the number of metropolitan regions, cities and towns that
are implementing policies for sustainable urban planning and design.
The Australian Government, through the National Urban Policy is promoting an integrated
approach to planning and building sustainable cities and urban settlements. The National
Urban Policy is a long-term framework for more productive, sustainable and liveable Australian
cities. It advocates that all levels of government, business and communities need to work in
partnership to:
 improve urban planning and design to better reflect increasingly diverse lifestyles
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better connect infrastructure with jobs and where people live so we can reduce people’s
dependency on the car
develop high quality public transport and infrastructure systems to ease congestion and
improve quality of life
reduce the carbon footprint of Australian cities and adapt them to the consequences of
climate change.
The Australian Government supports the Council of Australian Government’s commitment to
improve the administration and planning needed for sustainable cities. Support will continue
for governments to meet their cities’ strategic planning objectives, through activities and
initiatives consistent with the National Urban Policy to:
 facilitate intergovernmental collaboration
 promote the integration of planning systems, infrastructure delivery and management
 encourage best practice governance and the principle of subsidiarity
 improve the effectiveness of approval processes for development
 strengthen participation and engagement with stakeholders
 evaluate progress by ongoing research, analysis and reporting.
Employment
Rio+20 agreed to promote full and productive employment, decent work for all, and social
protection, including through a global strategy on youth and employment building on the work
of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and strengthening the capacity of workers and
trade unions to support sustainable development. Rio+20 agreed to address the global
challenge of youth employment by developing and implementing strategies and policies that
provide young people access to decent and productive work.
It agreed that workers should have access to education, skills, health care, social security,
fundamental rights at work, social and legal protections (including occupational safety and
health, and decent work opportunities. It agreed to encourage the private sector to contribute
to decent work for all and job creation for both women and men, and particularly for young
people.
The conference agreed to promote the exchange of information and knowledge on decent
work for all and job creation, including green jobs initiatives and related skills, and to facilitate
the integration of relevant data into national economic and employment policies.
Rio+20 also agreed to the sharing of experiences and best practices on ways to address the
high levels of unemployment and underemployment, in particular among young people; and to
provide social protection to all members of society, fostering growth, resilience, social justice
and cohesion, including those who are not employed in the formal economy.
The Australian Government supports international efforts to develop a global strategy on youth
employment, building on the work of the ILO and will continue to work with the ILO to realise
the goals established in the 2012 Report of the Committee on Youth Employment. The
Australian Government is committed to increasing workforce participation and has undertaken
numerous measures to boost the participation of older workers, mothers, young people and
people who have been unemployed or have a disability, ensuring that they have to the
opportunity to find and keep a decent job.
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The Australian Government actively promotes a number of policies and programs domestically
that advance decent work outcomes, with a focus on employment, social protection and
economic growth. These include policies and programs under Australia’s Fair Work System,
the Paid Parental Leave Scheme, Building Australia’s Future Workforce Package, and the
harmonisation of Australia’s occupational health and safety legislation.
The Australian Government has signed a partnership agreement with the ILO (2010-15), which
has provided $15 million for 2010-2012 to support ILO technical assistance programs
promoting sustainable employment activities and decent work in the Asia-Pacific. The
government will continue its support for the ILO during the second phase of the partnership
agreement. The partnership agreement was developed and is implemented in close
consultation with the Australian social partners–the Australian Council of Trade Unions
(ACTU), Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and Australian Industry Group
(AiG). For example, the Pacific Growth and Employment Project led by ACCI and jointly
delivered with ACTU will improve opportunities for sustainable and productive employment
growth in the transport and tourism sectors in the Pacific as well as build and strengthening
tripartite networks across the Pacific.
Australian Government policies including the national Green Skills Agreement, the Skills for
the Carbon Challenge Initiative, the Clean Energy Skills Package and the Clean Energy Future
Plan support substantial investment in green research and innovation. This includes the
development of labour market skills and policies that support workers in meeting the
challenges presented by the dynamic changes occurring in the Australian labour market.
The Australian Government supports the ILO’s efforts to ensure that workers have access to
social protection, fundamental rights at work, social and legal protections and decent work
opportunities and promotes the exchange of information and knowledge on decent work
through participation at major meetings of the ILO and the ILO’s Asia-Pacific Knowledge
Networks.
Australia supported the adoption of an ILO recommendation on social protection floors in June
2012 and will continue to support its efforts to increase coverage of social protection systems.
Chemicals and waste
Rio+20 recognised that sound management of chemicals is crucial for the protection of human
health and the environment, and that growing global use of chemicals for increased
international cooperation. It encouraged countries and organisations which have made
progress towards achieving the goal of sound management of chemicals by 2020 to assist
other countries by sharing knowledge, experience and best practices. It also agreed to
develop environmentally sound and safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals in products and
processes.
Australia’s National Waste Policy includes investment of $23 million over five years to ensure
Australia manages waste and resource recovery in a safe, scientific and environmentally
sound manner. Strategy 13 of the National Waste Policy makes a commitment for the
Australian Government to adopt a system that aligns with international approaches to reduce
hazardous substances in products and articles sold in Australia.
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The Australian Government actively participates in international committees and working
groups to develop international agreements for restricting the use, production, and emission or
release of hazardous chemicals, or for the sharing of information about them. Significant
advances have been made through Australia's participation in the APEC Chemical Dialogue
forum and adoption of the UN Globally Harmonised System for the classification and labelling
of industrial workplace chemicals, handling and storage.
Australia also actively participates in the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals
Management, which has the goal that by 2020 chemicals are used and produced in ways that
lead to minimisation of significant adverse effects on human health and environment.
Education
Rio+20 agreed to strengthen international cooperation to achieve universal access to primary
education and called for the capacity of our education systems to prepare people to pursue
sustainable development to be improved.
The Australian Government wants to ensure that all young Australians have access to a high
quality education. In collaboration with the states and territories, the government is developing
and implementing the Australian Curriculum for Foundation to Year 12, beginning with the
learning areas of English, mathematics, the sciences and history. The curriculum will provide
clear and explicit agreement on the content and achievement standards to which all Australian
students should have access to regardless of their socio-economic background, their location
or the school they attend.
Sustainability is one of the three cross curriculum priorities in the Australian Curriculum, along
with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and Australia’s engagement
with Asia. Sustainability is defined in the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography paper
as being ‘concerned with the ongoing capacity of the Earth to maintain life’, focusing on
reducing our ecological footprint while simultaneously supporting a quality of life that is
valued’. These concepts will be progressively developed in the curriculum from early primary
school.
Australia is working to provide its citizens with the right skills to drive the transition to a lowcarbon, resource efficient and sustainable economy.
The Australian Government has put in place a national policy framework which seeks to build
the capacity of education and training systems to deliver skills and education for sustainability.
Key policies and initiatives include:
 the COAG-endorsed Green Skills Agreement, a partnership between the federal, state and
territory governments which aims to embed skills for sustainability training into the national
Vocational Education and Training (VET) system
 the National VET Sector Sustainability Policy and Action Plan, which provides a national
framework for the VET sector to support the development of a productive workforce in the
move to a sustainable economy
 the Clean Energy and Other Skills Package, which is delivering investment of up to $32
million over four years to provide funding for targeted workforce development and
education and training projects which will support tradespersons and professionals in key
industries to develop the skills and knowledge needed to deliver energy efficiency and
clean energy products, services and advice
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the Skills for the Carbon Challenge initiative, which supports the objectives of the Green
Skills Agreement by funding a range of research projects and related activities on the
provision of skills for sustainability in the Australian tertiary sector
Living Sustainably: the Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Education for
Sustainability, which provides a policy framework for embedding sustainability across
education systems, industry, community and government.
These policies, programs and initiatives primarily support targeted projects which:
 build the capacity of the VET and Higher Education sectors to deliver skills for
sustainability training, courses and qualifications to current students and new and existing
workers
 develop teaching and learning resources and enabling tools to support the delivery of skills
for sustainability programs
 promote best practice in Education for Sustainability (EfS) and organisational sustainability
 support workforce development initiatives which enable tradespersons and professionals
in key industries to develop the skills required to deliver services, products and advice
which promote and contribute to sustainability.
Technology
Rio+20 urged support of developing countries in their efforts to collect environmental data and
strengthen international, regional and national capacities in research and technology
assessment.
Australia’s National Plan for Environmental Information initiative is developing a standardsbased technology platform to significantly improve discovery, access and re-use of
environmental information to support decision making by government.
The ABS provides support to international organisations and governments in developing the
frameworks for environmental-economic accounts as well as material to support their
implementation and use. The accounts are underpinned by the United Nations System of
Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA). Volume One: SEEA Central Framework was
adopted as an international standard by the United Nations Statistical Commission in early
2012. Volume 2: Experimental Ecosystem Accounts and Volume 3: Extensions and
applications are expected to be ratified in early 2013.
The ABS also develops and provides training modules and compilation guides to help
developing countries implement the economic accounts system, as well as environmental
statistics more generally, particularly in the conducting of surveys of households and
businesses. The ABS also responds to specific country requests for technical assistance as
resources permit.
Through the AusAID-funded South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project, the BoM
operates a network of monitoring stations. This network, which has been in place since the
1990s, provides real-time sea level and meteorological data at high temporal resolution at 12
locations: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
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Through major AusAID-funded projects to build climate services and climate change and
adaptation capability in the Pacific, the BoM is heavily engaged in climate data rescue
programs in developing countries in the Pacific. This includes the retrieval and quality control
of very large quantities of paper records and digitising them so that countries have secure
national climate records for current and future climate studies and applications. Benefits
include improved decision-making and greater safety and economic well-being of partner
countries through improved access to higher quality climate data and information.
The BoM provides assistance to several countries in the Pacific with the installation and
maintenance of observational systems in support of national operations. These include
weather radar installations in Fiji and automatic weather stations in East Timor and in PNG (in
support of the Kokoda Safety Package project).
The BoM is strongly engaged with the working mechanisms of the World Meteorological
Organization in the south Pacific, focusing on satellite communications, improved access to
Internet services, protocols for flexible meteorological data discovery, access and retrieval,
traceability of instrument calibrations to international standards, extending the coverage and
exchange of aircraft-borne meteorological observations and support for the establishment of
lightning detection systems.
The Australian Government, its national research agencies and institutions are strengthening
national capacity in research and technology assessment for sustainable development by:
 making an environmentally sustainable Australia one of four National Research Priorities
 developing National Research Flagship Programs in climate adaptation, energy
transformed, sustainable agriculture, water for healthy country etc, through CSIRO
 investing $3.2 billion in research, development and commercialisation of renewable energy
through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency
 supporting investment in cleaner energy technology through the $200 million Clean
Technology Innovation Program, a merit-based grants program which supports applied
research and development, proof-of-concept and early stage commercialisation activities
 encouraging industry to conduct research and development activities through the R&D Tax
Incentive, which provides targeted research and development (R&D) tax offsets to
Australian companies.
Helping our partner countries
Through the aid program, Australia is helping our partner countries to achieve their sustainable
development priorities to overcome poverty. Australia remains committed to reducing extreme
poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
At Rio+20, the Prime Minister agreed to co-chair the United Nations Secretary-General’s
Millennium Development Goals Advocates, along with other eminent personalities, to continue
building political will, to rally additional support, and to spur collective action to achieve the
MDGs. The Prime Minister has announced that her personal priorities for advocacy will be
promoting access to quality education, and achieving gender equality.
Rio+20 outcomes align with the development goals and objectives of Australia’s aid program
including in the areas of food security, gender equality, water and sanitation, disaster risk
reduction and access to education.
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At Rio+20, the Prime Minister announced over $180 million in new aid program funding to help
partner countries achieve their sustainable development priorities by enhancing our
engagement on oceans management, food security, gender equality and water, sanitation and
hygiene. These include:
 an additional $50 million for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (bringing
our total commitment to $100 million)
 $25 million in support of the Pacific Oceanscape Framework
 an additional $8 million for the Coral Triangle Initiative (bringing our total commitment to
over $13 million)
 $97 million for a new Civil Society Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (WASH) Fund
 $0.5 million for the N-Peace network for women leaders.
More information on Australia’s aid program is available at: www.ausaid.gov.au
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