Executive summary

The NSW State of the Environment 2024 assesses 20 topics across seven broad themes:

• .

The report shows that human activity and climate change continue to impact the environment. The full list of key findings can be found on each theme page.

is a new section framing the report this year. It introduces the (APKG) members, describes ways Aboriginal people identify, and mentions aspects of our shared history and worldviews.

The APKG recognise the need to ngarrangga ‘listen deeply’ to each other; walk together, value our differences, acknowledge our strength and have the courage to take action to implement change wherever it is required, for the betterment and care of Country and all peoples.

The APKG was established by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to ensure that the perspectives of Aboriginal peoples are heard and considered in matters that relate to Aboriginal cultural values, knowledges and sciences across the EPA.

Key findings in this 2024 report include:

Land

• While soil condition is mostly good, soil acidification is increasing.
• The presence of contaminants in soils, including in discrete Aboriginal communities and other communities, remains a significant issue.

Waters

• Coastal swimming sites have water quality that is suitable for swimming.
• Water quality is getting worse for inland rivers and wetlands, particularly areas of the Murray–Darling Basin, significantly affecting fish and waterbird communities.

Air and atmosphere

• NSW air quality is mostly good.
• Air quality has been negatively affected during extreme weather events, such as storms and bushfires, with significant health impacts.

Biodiversity

• The number of threatened plant and animal species listings in NSW continues to increase, with threatened plants increasing by 18 to a total of 675, and animals also increasing by 18 to 343 between December 2020 and June 2024.
• Clearing of native vegetation puts pressure on these species and remains significantly higher than before the regulatory reforms of 2016–17.

Climate

• NSW average surface temperatures over land have risen 1.4°C since national records began in 1910. Sea surface temperatures in the Sydney area have also increased by about 0.14–0.2°C per decade since the 1950s. The impact of the changing climate means there will be more hot days, severe fire weather days and extreme rainfall, increasing the risk of heatwaves, bushfires and floods.
• Net greenhouse gas emissions in NSW in 2021–22 declined to 111 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is 27% lower than NSW emissions in 2004–05. This decline is mostly due to the increased proportion of electricity generation from renewable sources.

People and industry

• There has been a major increase in electricity share delivered by renewable energy generation and in 2023 was about 34% of the State’s electricity generation.
• In 2023, vehicles on NSW roads travelled 74.8 billion kilometres, a 12% increase since 2004. Despite an increase in the sale of electric vehicles, transport continues to be one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW.
• All but one utility provided 100% of their population with water that met the guidelines for chemicals and contamination with E. coli (Inverell achieved 99.9%).
• Total waste generation is increasing faster than our population, rising from 18.7 million tonnes in 2015–16 to 22.4 million tonnes in 2022–23.
• In NSW during 2021–23 the number of regulated contaminated sites remained stable. The EPA regulated about 202 sites per year in that period.

Drivers

• NSW population and economics are decoupling (separating) from some key environmental trends. This means that while population is growing, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are declining.

In the NSW State of the Environment 2021, the then members of the APKG raised the following as key opportunities:

• Inclusion of Aboriginal peoples in decision making and environmental programs focused on sustaining healthy native vegetation, animals and Country.
• Increased representation of Aboriginal peoples on scientific, biodiversity and conservation committees, with progress tracked through a new SoE indicator.
• Recognition and promotion of Aboriginal knowledges and cultures alongside western sciences.
• Greater collaboration between management authorities and Aboriginal communities to enhance the care and management of the environment.

Progress on these opportunities as of 2024:

• The EPA endorsed a Statement of Commitment to Aboriginal Peoples in 2021 as a high-level strategic commitment to work with, learn from, listen to and respect Aboriginal peoples (see Acknowledging NSW’s First Custodians for more information).
• An ongoing Aboriginal Peoples Knowledge Group was formed to ensure that the perspectives of Aboriginal peoples are heard and considered in matters that relate to Aboriginal cultural values, knowledges and sciences across the EPA.
• Efforts are ongoing to identity data that can be used for a future SoE indicator that measures Aboriginal representation on relevant boards and committees.
• Establishing partnerships with Aboriginal organisations to enable them to support recovery of Country and communities impacted by catastrophic floods and fish kills.

Many of the challenges in previous State of the Environment reports continue. Some of the most pressing challenges in 2024 are:

• Climate change is placing increasing pressure on the environment. Land and sea surface temperatures, as well as sea levels, are projected to rise, and rainfall patterns will become more erratic. These changes may result in ecosystem failures.
• The transition to renewable sources of energy needs to accelerate if we are to meet the NSW 2030 net zero targets. In the transport sector, for example, there is a continued reliance on private vehicles, a preference for SUVs, and lack of electric freight vehicles.
• Despite population and economics starting to decouple from environmental impacts, human activities, such as agriculture and urbanisation, can result in soil degradation, poor water quality, air pollution and destruction of ecosystems.
• Clearing of native vegetation continues to fragment habitat and reduce the capacity of land to support native plants, animals and ecosystems.
• Consideration of Aboriginal cultural knowledges and perspectives in holistic planning, management, monitoring and reporting on the state of the environment.
• Data gaps across many topics limit the accuracy of status and trends included in this report. Aspects of the environment lacking an easily accessible data source include: soil nutrient imbalance, aquifer sustainability, groundwater quality, long-term plant species information, land use, vegetation regeneration, invasive plant species, reptiles, amphibians, insects, fungi, indoor air quality, impact of climate change on public infrastructure, climate change resilience metrics, consideration of intergenerational equity, heatwaves, correlation of population and economics with biodiversity, habitat fragmentation, noise and light pollution, recycled water.

Significant environmental reforms and initiatives were undertaken during the reporting period. The full list of responses can be found on each topic page.

These responses have been grouped around the biggest environmental issues of our time.

Climate change

• Building on its Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020–30, the NSW Government is responding to climate change with mitigation and adaptation strategies. The NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap outlines a 20-year plan to integrate renewable energy into the energy-generation mix in NSW, replacing coal-fired generators and enhancing energy reliability through Renewable Energy Zones.
• The NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy sets out the NSW Government’s plan to accelerate the State’s uptake of electric vehicles.

Circular economy

• The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 sets out a 20-year vision for reducing waste and changing how our economy produces, consumes and recycles products and materials. The strategy has a long-term focus on plastics, organics and residual waste.
• The NSW Plastics Action Plan addresses each phase of the plastics life cycle with a three-part approach to reducing harm. This includes removing as many unnecessary plastic items from the economy as possible, improving product design to reduce the risks they pose, and improving the quality of plastic items so they can be recycled at the highest level. The Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 supports the phasing out of a number of problematic and unnecessary plastic items.

Biodiversity

• The NSW plan for nature, released in July 2024, is the NSW Government response to the statutory reviews of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and native vegetation provisions of the Local Land Services Act 2013. It shifts the Government’s policy objective from mitigating decline to restoration and repair. It includes actions to strengthen the Act and reform the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme, develop a NSW nature strategy, and improve biodiversity outcomes through accountability and regulation, use of data and reporting, and increased support for conservation and land management practices. The Act reforms will prioritise Aboriginal cultural values, connecting to Country, cultural practices and opportunities for Aboriginal economic development.
• The Saving our Species program supports management of threatened plant and animal species and ecological communities.
• The Biodiversity Indicator Program collects, monitors and assesses information on the status and trends in biodiversity in NSW to help us understand the impact of current biodiversity management and conservation measures.

Water

• The NSW Water Strategy was launched in September 2021. This strategy proposes more than 40 actions across seven priority areas, focused on improving the security, reliability, quality and resilience of the State’s water resources. More than $1 billion has been allocated to help local water utilities reduce risks in urban water systems through the Safe and Secure Water Program.