AAUSTRALIA
FACTBOOK
Australia FactbookDraft

November 2026 Edition

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Australia Factbook · National chapter / AUS

Environment

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2021 Factbook flag mirror; image identity has not been individually audited. Source.

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Sections in Environment
  1. Environmental issues
  2. International environmental agreements
  3. Climate
  4. Land use
  5. Urbanization
  6. Carbon dioxide emissions
  7. Particulate matter emissions
  8. Methane emissions
  9. Waste and recycling
  10. Total water withdrawal
  11. Total renewable water resources

Environment

Environmental issues:71

soil erosion from overgrazing, deforestation, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; limited natural freshwater resources; soil salinity from use of poor-quality water, drought, desertification; habitat loss from agricultural clearing; floral extinctions; Great Barrier Reef preservation; overfishing; pollution; invasive species
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [71]

International environmental agreements:72

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
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [72]

Climate:73

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

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [73]

Land use:74

agricultural land:47.2% (2023 est.)
arable land:4% (2023 est.)
permanent crops:0.1% (2023 est.)
permanent pasture:43.1% (2023 est.)
forest:17.3% (2023 est.)
other:35.4% (2023 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [74]

Urbanization:75

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
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [75]

Carbon dioxide emissions:76

total emissions:394.653 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke:146.81 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids:154.346 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas:93.497 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [76]

Particulate matter emissions:77

9.1 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Source context

Reference period: 2019.

Original reference ↗

Source note [77]

Methane emissions:78

energy:2,146 kt (2022-2024 est.)
agriculture:2,382.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)
waste:587.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)
other:144.1 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [78]

Waste and recycling:79

municipal solid waste generated annually:13.345 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled:52.9% (2022 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [79]

Total water withdrawal:80

municipal:2.43 billion cubic meters (2022)
industrial:3.11 billion cubic meters (2022)
agricultural:11.19 billion cubic meters (2022)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [80]

Total renewable water resources:81

492 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Source context

Reference period: 2022.

Original reference ↗

Source note [81]

Historical observations

Notes & sources

  1. Environmental issues. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  2. International environmental agreements. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  3. Climate. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  4. Land use. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  5. Urbanization. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  6. Carbon dioxide emissions. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  7. Particulate matter emissions. Reference edition; observation: 2019. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  8. Methane emissions. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  9. Waste and recycling. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  10. Total water withdrawal. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  11. Total renewable water resources. Reference edition; observation: 2022. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 09:22:13 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
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Countries & territories

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RankCountry or territoryValue
Source information
International organization

Source observations