Taking Action

On 31 May 2022, the South Australian Parliament declared a climate emergency, recognising that climate change is happening now and at a faster rate than was expected. This declaration signals the government’s intention to take action.

Our biodiversity is still declining, despite considerable effort and investment that has been undertaken to protect it. This has been highlighted in past South Australian State of the Environment Reports.

Our population is growing and there is no doubt that human activities are the greatest driver of environmental change. We now need to reduce our impacts, adapt to our environment and better appreciate that our health and wellbeing is intrinsically linked to the health of our environment. Unless we take action, population growth is likely to be unsustainable.

A number of reports have been produced by the South Australian and Australian governments since the 2018 SOER that provide actions and recommendations to tackle the issues we are facing. These include, but are not limited to:

Several recommendations and actions are duplicated across reports and many reports do not provide an indication of urgency for their implementation. In addition, many of the issues, recommendations and actions identified in past reports, including the SOER, are still relevant today. A more coordinated and consistent approach is needed across government to implement these actions according to their urgency and deliver on-ground change.

The South Australian Government develops and implements an overarching framework that contextualises and orients its policies and actions for protecting and restoring the environment, identifying critical priorities based on level of risk and clarifying the relationships and interdependencies between them in delivering co‑benefits.

Recommendations & Issues

Taking Action

Acknowledgement of Country