This section presents the results of the document analysis concerning the extent to which energy (electricity and gas) , urban planning (land use, transport, housing and infrastructure and environment sector policies in Australian state, territory and federal jurisdictions recognise and respond to the health-related implications of GHG or brown pollution. This includes direct relationships within goals, objectives, strategies, and evidence; as well as policies that research show have implications for increases or decreases in exposure to health effecting pollution.
4.1 Policy overview
Environmental sustainability is included as a principal goal in all jurisdictions and within policy documents in all sectors. GHG pollution reduction is the principal focus, whereas the effects of brown pollution are downplayed or silences. Correspondingly, all jurisdictions have objectives to reduce GHG pollution, but none have targets to reduce brown pollution.
Evidence of the links between GHG pollution and climate change are commonly referred to in documents from all three sectors in all jurisdictions. For example, this evidence from the ACT makes the link clear.
the way we produce and consume energy now is unsustainable. There is credible science and observable evidence indicating that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are polluting the earth’s atmosphere and leading to dangerous and irreversible climate change. Burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to those climatic changes.
However, evidence of the links between climate change, health, and health equity are rarely mentioned as a justification for policies. The only link mentioned is the potential for climate change to increase death and injury from increases in the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
The energy sector pays much greater attention to GHG pollution reduction than does the transport sector. Nationally, the federal government has a target of reducing GHG pollution by 26-28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030 as part of the Paris Agreement (DISER, 2020). The major mechanism for this reduction has been a federal renewable energy target (RET) which obliges electricity retailers to purchase 20% (33,000 gigawatt hours) of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020 using tradeable renewable energy certificates (REC) issued by the federal government (Hua et al., 2016, Carley, 2009). There are no similar targets or mechanisms to reduce emissions from transport.
Brown pollution is recognised as a health problem in environment sector documents from all jurisdictions. However, there are no mentions of brown pollution as a health problem in any energy sector document in any jurisdiction. Evidence of the links between brown pollution and health are mentioned in urban planning documents from all jurisdictions other than SA and NT. The most comprehensive evidence-based assessment of the health implications of brown pollution from motor vehicles comes from the NSW environment department via the relatively old Cleaner Vehicles and Fuels Strategy. It states:
The health costs of air pollution in NSW are substantial. Although Sydney has good air quality by world standards, a reduction in current air pollution levels would continue to improve the population’s health in the long-term. The estimated annual health cost of current levels of air pollution in the greater metropolitan area is $4.7 billion, or $893 per head of population. Health experts estimate that air pollution causes between 640 and 1400 deaths per year in Sydney, and between 900 and 2000 hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses (DECC, 2008).
Despite the comprehensive assessment of the problems of brown pollution in this excerpt, actual strategies in the document to tackle brown pollution from motor vehicles are modest. In addition, The comprehensive evidence provided in and throughout the NSW Cleaner Vehicles and Fuels Strategy are not repeated in subsequent NSW land use or transport sector plans. For example, the Plan for Growing Sydney refers to the health effects of pollution in a less forthright manner.
Urban development has implications for air quality, with exposure to air pollution associated with the incidence of respiratory problems, heart and lung disease and risks to children and the elderly. Through urban layout, we can improve air quality in residential areas to improve our health and wellbeing (DPE, 2014).
In other jurisdictions the specific relationships between health and brown pollution in urban planning documents are silences or when mentioned downplayed as a current health problem, for example:
In the coming decades, it will become more important to manage pollution so that it does not exceed the environment’s capacity to absorb it. Melbourne’s air quality compares well with cities worldwide but there are occasional days of poor air quality (DELWP, 2014).
Perth and Peel, like most urban areas in Australia, experience occasional episodes of poor air quality (WAPC, 2010).
4.2 Pollution and energy sector policies
The state and territory jurisdictions of Qld, SA, and the ACT also have key performance indicator (KPI) renewable energy targets. The SA government’s target goes well beyond the modest federal government target with an objective to:
achieve $10 billion of investment in low carbon energy generation by 2025 and we want 50 per cent of our electricity production to be by renewable energy by 2025 (RenewablesSA, 2015).
Other jurisdictions have more ambiguous objectives such as this from WA:
By 2031, a significant and continually growing proportion of Western Australia's energy needs will be met from renewable energy sources (Department of Finance, 2012).
In NSW the state policy reflected the national target with the added objective of affordability:
This NSW Renewable Energy Action Plan supports the achievement of the national target of 20% renewable energy by 2020. The Plan positions NSW to increase the use of energy from renewable sources at least cost to the energy customer and with maximum benefits to NSW (Office of Environment and Heritage, 2014).
While all jurisdictions have targets to increase renewable energy generation, of the four states which currently burn coal for electricity generation, only Victoria has a strategy to exit from coal:
Develop policy mechanisms within 0-5 years for innovation or exit of brown coal energy generation to provide clearer signals and certainty to industry and the community and contribute to reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions (Infrastructure Victoria, 2016).
In NSW, WA, Qld (states with major fossil fuel export industries) and federally the need to exit from fossil fuels as part of a sustainability transition is either a silence or contradicted by other policies such as these from Queensland and Western Australia:
Unlocking untapped coal reserves in the Galilee Basin will have significant economic benefits for centres such as Rockhampton, Mackay, Bowen and Townsville (DILGP 2016).
Coal will continue to supply Western Australia's electricity generation portfolio in conjunction with emissions reduction technologies (Government of WA 2012).
4.3 Pollution and the Urban Planning and Transport Sectors
In the transport sectors of all jurisdictions there are no GHG reduction targets or mechanisms. Nor is the possibility of raising transport fuel prices as a means of reducing VKT and incentivising the uptake of more fuel-efficient vehicles mentioned in any policy in any jurisdiction. There is some acknowledgement in all jurisdictions of the links between urban form and per capita VKT and ultimately GHG and brown pollution. A policy direction that runs through most urban planning (land use, transport, and housing) documents is that previous urban development that has privileged motor vehicle use is no longer environmentally, socially or economically sustainable, and an alternative model is required for future development. Specific issues highlighted are excessive GHG pollution, but also traffic congestion and other negative health consequences, such as the encouragement of sedentary lifestyles, social isolation, and inequities stemming from differential access to, places, services, and employment. For example, the SEQ Plan argues:
SEQ has developed historically in a dispersed, low-density settlement pattern, which has moved outward into the regional landscape. This pattern has become unsustainable. The natural landscape and regional ecosystems are experiencing increasingly adverse effects, and SEQ residents are experiencing increasing traffic congestion and, therefore, longer journeys to and from work… & … Groups with the highest needs are often concentrated in urban fringe locations, rural areas, and some suburbs where public transport and services are unavailable or inadequate (DPI, 2009).
The response to these problems in all jurisdictions is a preference for infill within current urban footprints attached to existing or proposed public transport infrastructure and services, for example:
Higher residential densities and mixed use developments in the walkable catchments of transit facilities have the potential to reduce car dependence; to increase accessibility for those without access to private cars; to reduce congestion on the road network and the demand for new road space; to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution; and to provide quality diverse and affordable forms of housing and development. These benefits combine to produce an attractive and viable alternative to car-based suburban and urban fringe development (WAPC 2010).
As strategy, this involves the targeting of higher density residential infill in city centres, and in inner and middle suburbs within walking distance of transit corridors such as rail lines, busways, and arterial roads with high frequency bus services. In middle and outer suburbs, a transit-oriented development (TOD)approach of targeting residential infill within walking distance of regional and district level activity centres attached to public transport interchanges is common.
The targeting of residential infill around activity centres in middle and outer suburbs is part of a strategy to space and connect activity centres to form an activity centre network across metropolitan areas. The objective is for major district and regional centres to become diverse, mixed use nodes with a greatly expanded commercial, service, social and employment functions. The long term aim is to make suburban regions more commercially and socially self-reliant, and by doing so improve access to services and employment for suburban residents, reducing the need for commuting into employment dense regions such as the CBD and inner suburbs. There is belief in all jurisdictions that these strategies will reduce VKT causing a corresponding reduction in both GHG and brown pollution.
In regard to the pollution effects of cold running and short trips only the NSW Long Term transport Strategy even mentions these as a problem.
Maintaining Sydney’s air quality Cold start VOC (volatile organic compound) pollution – the pollution produced immediately after the car starts – contribute 54 percent of total petrol passenger vehicle exhaust VOC pollution and 39 percent of fleet total pollution. In other words, numerous short journeys contribute more pollution than the same total number of kilometres travelled as a long journey. This means that reversing the large increase in short car trips that has occurred in recent years – trips that could be taken by walking or cycling – can make a significant contribution to improving air quality (Transport for NSW 2012).
The transit-oriented development (TOD) approach also advocates improving public transport and cycling connections into suburban activity centres as an alternative to short journeys by car, for example in WA the plan is to:
plan and design activity centres around transit-oriented development principles to promote public transport, walking and cycling as an alternative to private car use (WAPC 2010).
However, a complementary strategy of restricting or applying costs to parking as a means of reducing motor vehicles trips into suburban activity centres is not advocated in any jurisdiction.
In addition, targeting intensive residential infill into inner city suburbs and close to major activity centres, and arterial roads creates a significant issue for health and health equity because these areas are also areas where brown pollution is most concentrated (Oakes et al., 2016, Marshall et al., 2009). Only the Melbourne plan raises the potential of the problem, stating:
As urban renewal progresses, more people could be exposed to air and noise pollution in mixed-use areas, along major roads, at intersections, in popular entertainment areas and near industrial areas (DELWP, 2014).
The means of dealing with this issue and its health and health equity implications is to have a corresponding policy initiative to reduce brown pollution from the motor vehicle fleet (Tayarani et al., 2016). The Melbourne Plan like the NSW Cleaner Vehicles and Fuels Strategy advocates for this to be done nationally.
The Council of Australian Governments sets emission standards through national environment protection measures, which are designed to minimise the potential pollution impacts of urban living (such as motor-vehicle pollution). Victoria will work to ensure that these national measures set pollution requirements to manage pollution levels (DELWP, 2014).
The mechanisms for action to improve the pollution standards of new vehicles and fuel is the National Clean Air Agreement tends to downplay the problem of brown pollution stating in its introduction:
Australia’s air quality remains very good by world standards. Australian governments have, over a number of years, successfully implemented measures to reduce air pollution which have significantly improved Australia’s overall air quality and resulted in positive environmental and health outcomes. But there is more that can be done (DAWE, 2016).
While there is a mention of the potential of ‘more to be done’ there are no policies designed to improve the pollution standards of new vehicles in this document.
The problem of congestion is espoused as a far greater concern than brown pollution in all jurisdictions. Its economic effects are regularly highlighted with evidence, such as this from SEQ:
Road connections within SEQ are increasingly under pressure, with congestion and delays reducing economic efficiency and costing industry millions per year. The Australian Infrastructure Audit estimates the cost of delays on the Brisbane–Gold Coast–Sunshine Coast transport network caused by congestion in 2011 was around $2 billion. In the absence of any additional capacity, the cost of delays across the region is projected to grow to around $9 billion in 2031 (DILGP 2016).
Investments into public transport and to a lesser extent walking and cycling infrastructure are advanced as means of reducing congestion with the potential for GHG and brown pollution reduction expressed as co-benefits. In land use plans ensuring new residential areas are walkable is a common objective and all jurisdictions have strategies to improve cycling infrastructure. However, the funding commitments to these are comparatively modest. In addition, there are plans to expand light and/or heavy rail infrastructure in larger cities; primarily as a means of reducing congestion but also increasing urban development opportunities and improving the city’s global connectedness. For example,
The Melbourne Rail Link will support an expanded central city through provision of new stations at Domain, and Montague (in the Fisherman’s Bend Urban Renewal Area). These new stations will create new opportunities for high value businesses and residential development. The Melbourne Rail Link includes the Airport Rail Link, a frequent and reliable rail service running between Melbourne Airport, the CBD and Melbourne’s south-east, and providing the benefit of directly linking Melbourne Airport to Sunshine and Southern Cross station. The Airport Rail Link will provide convenient and alternate landside access to one of our most important transport gateways and an important connection for business travellers and tourists looking for a frequent, reliable connection to the central city. With the Cranbourne-Pakenham Rail Corridor Project, the Melbourne Rail Link will increase capacity across the network by 30 per cent (DELWP 2014).
There is in all transport plans a far greater commitment to upgrading and expanding road infrastructure as a means of alleviating ‘productivity stifling’ congestion than for public or active transport infrastructure, for example:
Significant improvements to and expansion of the road network in the Perth metropolitan area are planned and will be required in the future to meet the transport demands that will be generated by further expansion and development within the metropolitan area. Planned upgrades include six-lane freeways on Roe and Tonkin highways interspersed with four-lane highways and traffic signalised intersections.
There is also likely to be the need to plan for some new road infrastructure to ensure that adequate accessibility is provided and maintained across the metropolitan area. For example, the north-south East Wanneroo Link will be required to support additional development in the north-west sub-region (WAPC 2010).
The federal government infrastructure plan even sees reducing road traffic congestion as a means of reducing pollution, arguing:
Vehicles use less fuel and produce less pollution on free-flowing road networks than those that are congested (Infrastructure Australia, 2016).
The dubious notion that it is possible to encourage active and public transport and therefore reduce motor vehicle reliance while simultaneously making driving a more attractive option is a common acceptance in all jurisdictions. It is specifically argued in the following extract from the South Australian Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan.
The Plan seeks to reduce reliance on car travel across inner and middle Adelaide by supporting development around transport hubs and encouraging the use of public transport and the creation of more jobs closer to where people live, including in the CBD. Investment in infrastructure to support public transport, cycling and walking when coordinated into existing networks and integrated with land use and the design of walkable and cyclist-friendly environments can help reduce car dependency. Improvements to major traffic routes will reduce the need for travel through the inner city, and make it easier to get around Greater Adelaide by car. Solutions will be put in place that help take the cars and trucks that don’t need to be in the city out of central Adelaide and off streets that are not major traffic routes, while still protecting important freight corridors and routes (DPTI, 2015).
4.4 The protection of Urban Ecological Services
All urban planning and environment documents in all jurisdictions have objectives and strategies to protect, enhance, and expand green infrastructure (parks, open spaces, riparian corridors, and coastal areas) and their urban ecological services (UES). For example:
Protect, manage and rehabilitate riparian areas to maintain and enhance their water quality, scenic, biodiversity, ecological, recreational and corridor values (DPI, 2009).
There is some recognition of the UES green spaces provide in relation to pollution mitigation in environment sector documents but far less in urban planning documents. The contribution hard infrastructure associated with car dependence such as wide roads, freeways, and surface level carparks makes to the pollution of water and natural environments is a silence in urban planning sector documents. There is some recognition of the UES provided by urban street tree canopies and landscapes in Victoria, NSW, SA, and WA and the negative aspects of their loss due to intensive infill. For example, Plan Melbourne states;
our city’s green spaces are under increasing pressure from drought, climate change and the increasing cost of water. Growth and increasing density are reducing the size and number of private gardens and opportunities for street trees and landscaping in our newer suburbs (DELWP, 2014).
The common response to this problem are strategies to plant more trees in public places: For example:
Encourage local governments to undertake community tree-planting programs by building on the success of the 2 Million Trees Project beyond 2014 (DELWP, 2014).
Urban planning documents also routinely mandate water sensitive urban design (WSUD) principles be incorporated into new residential developments and redevelopments. In addition, an often-mentioned co-justification for favouring urban infill over continued extensive expansion on urban fringes is to protect natural environments and agricultural land. For example, Principle 14 (b) ii of South Australia’s Planning, Development, and Infrastructure Act (2016) states
the encroachment of urban areas on areas of rural, landscape or environmental significance is to be avoided other than in exceptional circumstances (Attorney General's Department, 2016)
In support of this principle the Thirty-Year Plan for Greater (TYPGA) has a policy to:
Ensure new urban fringe growth occurs only within designated urban areas and township boundaries and outside the Environment and Food Production Areas (DPTI 2017).
However, SA, along with NSW, Qld, WA, and Vic temper strict environmental preservation regulations with environmental offset policies. These allow a developer to destroy a natural ecosystem for urban development if they construct or rehabilitate a degraded ecosystem of equal or greater environmental value elsewhere. For example, the Queensland State Planning policy states:
(b) where existing wetland environmental values cannot be enhanced or adverse effects on wetland environmental values cannot be avoided, the development:
i. minimises those adverse effects, or ii. provides an environmental offset for any remaining environmental impacts, where those adverse effects cannot be minimised (DILGP. 2017).
The NSW Wetlands Policy similarly states:
Natural wetlands should not be destroyed or degraded. If social or economic imperatives in the public interest result in a wetland being degraded or destroyed, the establishment and protection of a wetland offset that supports similar biodiversity and ecological functions will be needed (DECCW, 2010).