National Clean Air Agreement Released

Federal and State Environment Ministers have announced the establishment of the National Clean Air Agreement that is designed to incorporate a range of existing, new and complementary measures to improve Australia’s air quality.   The Agreement focuses on actions to reduce air pollution and improve air quality through cooperative action between industry and government at the national, state and local level.   The Agreement’s initial workplan will see a range of actions taken over the next two years to address priority issues of concern, including:  

• reviewing and strengthening air quality monitoring and reporting standards,
• targeted measures to reduce emissions from key sources of air pollution,
• improving access to air quality information for communities, and
• fostering partnerships with industry.

  Environment Ministers have agreed that emission standards for new non-road spark ignition engines will be introduced through Commonwealth legislation, with the aim to introduce this legislation into the Federal Parliament in 2016. State and Territory Governments are working towards adopting standards for new wood heaters and have agreed to share cost effective approaches tailored for local conditions and priorities.   All jurisdictions have agreed to implement strengthened standards for particles, as well as move to even tighter standards for annual average and 24-hour PM2.5 particles in 2025.   Over the next year, jurisdictions will also work collaboratively to establish and implement the National Clean Air Agreement’s priority setting process.