Environmental Policy

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the next climate target may not be legislated, in a wide-ranging interview with the ABC.

The environment minister says he has heard a message loud and clear from last week's productivity round table that the "urgent" rewrite of Australia's environmental approval laws should be sped up.

Vehicle emissions may contribute to more than 1,800 premature deaths in Australia each year, according to the nation's first assessment of the health impact of traffic-related pollution.

Housing will dominate discussion at the Economic Reform Roundtable this morning, with ministers, business leaders and conservationists all under pressure to solve the wicked problem of building more homes without trashing the environment.

The details of property developer Amir Abu Abara's lengthy court case can only now be revealed — five years after he illegally cleared land at Barden Ridge in Sydney's south.

Several countries voiced bitter disappointment as the talks unravelled, but said they were prepared for future negotiations — despite six rounds of talks over three years. 

I've lived away from South Australia for almost three years now, and coming home to see the algal bloom hit home.

The Commonwealth has approved the continuation of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, bringing to an end a reconsideration request by environmental groups.

A tourism survey finds about 40 per cent of South Australian businesses impacted by the toxic algal bloom have experienced a downturn in trade as the government's financial support is starting to flow to those affected. 

The Tasmanian Greens welcome a Liberal decision to back out of a plan to open up more native forests for logging, but some opponents say it is a bid to woo crossbench support ahead of an imminent no-confidence motion. 

NSW Natural Resources Access Regulator issues a stop-work order halting environmental water flows in Toorale National Park, citing a lack of mandatory reporting.

Community groups say the deputy premier's intervention in a Sunshine Coast development approval process undermines public trust.

The state government has assembled an industry only advisory panel as it works toward a 25-year plan for how state forests will be used.

Zali Steggall warns that the costs of climate change must be a focus at the government's productivity roundtable, with the issue already costing billions. She says a levy on fossil fuel exports could help fund climate disaster prevention. 

WA's controversial demersal fishing rules were introduced to conserve fish, but confidential documents suggest the regulations are not working.

The approval of a solar farm in just 30 business days is an example of how the renewables rollout could be sped up if Australia's ageing environment laws were rewritten, the government says. 

One of the world's top climate diplomats has urged the federal government to commit to an ambitious 2035 target to cut carbon emissions.

As South Australia deals with its unprecedented algal bloom, a bloom of a different kind has been decimating California's coastline for four years, killing whales, dolphins and causing sea lions to behave aggressively on beaches. Warning: This story contains content that some readers may find distressing.

The International Court of Justice was unequivocal about the consequences for countries that make the climate crisis worse. As one of the world's biggest fossil fuel exporters, it puts Australia on notice.

Thirteen years since the start of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, a comprehensive evaluation finds rivers, wetlands and lakes are in far better shape.