Environment and Climate Change >
Introduction
Our standard of living is inextricably linked to the quality of the natural environment. The amount of waste we produce, the quality of our water systems and our levels of greenhouse gas emissions all have fundamental impacts on our personal health, and the health of the natural environment.
Whilst much economic growth and development in the 20th Century came at the expense of the natural environment, governments need not choose between economic development and environmental degradation on the one hand, or reduced living standards and environmental protection on the other. Without the natural environment, there will be no economy.
Across the globe, governments and communities are being challenged to create more sustainable societies. In particular, wealthy, highly industrialised countries which have the resources to deal with environmental problems, such as Australia, have a moral obligation to reduce their greenhouse emissions and prevent dangerous levels of climate change from occurring.
In Victoria, our ecological footprint is unsustainably high and we would require four planets to sustain us if all of the world’s population lived like Victorians do. Failure to reduce our ecological footprint is likely to damage our natural assets beyond repair and result in lower living standards in the long term by contributing to global climate change.
However, Victorians are displaying a remarkable willingness to reduce their impact on the natural environment and lead more sustainable lifestyles. We now recycle more than 50 per cent of all our waste and we are leading the nation in efficient water use, whilst over 100,000 Victorians are now buying Green Power, more than in any other State.
As Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, I’m working within the Victorian Labor Government to continue to reduce our society’s impact on the natural environment and ensure that Victoria plays its part in reducing greenhouse emissions. Our Environment, Our Future is the Government’s over-arching plan to address these issues through the following policy objectives:
- Respond to the challanges of climate change
- Maintain and restore our natural assets
- Use our resources more efficiently
- Reduce our everyday environmental impacts
- Promote Government leadership
I’m working with the community and business to implement this plan and to maintain our natural environment for future generations.
Gavin
