The biggest environmental issues in Australia are a fast-warming and drying climate, catastrophic bushfires, repeated bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, a long list of extinctions, land clearing, overused rivers, emissions from coal and gas, and growing waste. Australia covers 7,688,287 km² (about 2.97 million square miles), according to Geoscience Australia, and had 27.9 million people on March 31, 2026 (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
A very high proportion of its native species, including about 85% of its plants, are found nowhere else, according to the State of the Environment 2021 report, so every extinction is a global loss. Below are the eight main problems with the latest official figures, a summary table and what is being done.
Top 8 Environmental Issues in Australia
1. Climate Change and Extreme Heat
Australia has warmed by 1.51°C (2.7°F) since national records began in 1910, and the seas around it by 1.08°C (1.9°F) since 1900, according to the State of the Climate 2024 report by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. Rain is shifting too: April–October rainfall in the southwest is down about 16% since 1970, and in the southeast about 9% since 1994. Extreme fire weather and longer fire seasons have become more common since the 1950s.
The warm years keep coming. 2019 remains the hottest year on record and 2024 the second-hottest, while 2025 was the fourth-warmest at 1.23°C (2.2°F) above the 1961–1990 average, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
2. Bushfires
The 2019–20 “Black Summer” fires killed 33 people and destroyed 3,113 houses, according to a Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC study. Estimates of the burned area vary by method: the Royal Commission gave a range of 24.3 to 33.8 million hectares (60 to 84 million acres), and researchers have estimated that the smoke caused 429 premature deaths, both as summarized by the Parliamentary Library.
Wildlife took a huge hit. Nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced, including about 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles and 181 million birds, according to a University of Sydney study for WWF-Australia. About 61,000 koalas were in the affected areas.
3. Great Barrier Reef Bleaching
Mass coral bleaching hit the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025, and 2024 brought record heat stress, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The institute calls the frequency of bleaching over the last decade unprecedented and says climate change remains the greatest threat to the reef.
The reef can recover between events. In surveys from August 2025 to June 2026, hard coral cover rose to 35.1% in the northern region and 31.6% in the central region, while the south stayed roughly stable at 26.4%, below its long-term average (AIMS). In 2026, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee decided not to list the reef as “in danger” (GBRMPA).
4. Extinctions and Threatened Species
One hundred endemic species, including 38 plants and 34 mammals, are officially listed as extinct since European colonization in 1788, according to a 2019 study for the National Environmental Science Program. Mammal extinctions were caused mainly by introduced predators, and plant extinctions mainly by habitat loss.
The pressure continues. As of June 2021, more than 1,900 species (533 animals and 1,385 plants) were listed as threatened under national law, and invasive species affect 82% of threatened species, according to the State of the Environment 2021 report.
5. Land Clearing
Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation is the threat listed most often for nationally threatened species, affecting 1,210 of them (State of the Environment 2021).
Queensland cleared 274,616 hectares (about 678,600 acres) of woody vegetation in 2023–24, 17% less than a year earlier, according to the state’s SLATS report. Pasture accounted for 86% of it, and 43% was in catchments that drain to the Great Barrier Reef.
6. Overused Rivers and Fish Kills
In the Murray–Darling Basin, water use before the Basin Plan exceeded sustainable limits, which led to overuse and declining river health. The plan aims to recover 3,200 gigaliters (about 845 billion gallons) a year for the environment. Of the extra 450 gigaliters due by December 31, 2027, only 26 gigaliters had been recovered through the dedicated fund by June 2024, plus 78.2 gigaliters of earlier over-recovery reallocated in February 2025, according to the Parliamentary Library.
The consequences can be dramatic. In March 2023, an estimated 20–30 million fish died in the Darling-Baaka River near Menindee in New South Wales. The most likely cause was a lack of oxygen in the water, made worse by low flows, heat and large amounts of carp and algae, according to the NSW Chief Scientist.
7. Emissions, Coal and Gas
Australia’s emissions in the year to March 2026 were about 25% below 2005 levels and 1.6% lower than a year earlier, according to the government’s quarterly inventory update as summarized by WINS Solutions. The Climate Change Act 2022 sets a target of 43% below 2005 by 2030 and net zero by 2050, and in September 2025 the government set a 2035 target of 62–70%.
Fossil fuel exports remain large. For 2025–26, the government forecasts export earnings of A$59 billion from LNG, A$38 billion from metallurgical coal and A$30 billion from thermal coal, according to the Department of Industry (Resources and Energy Quarterly, June 2026).
8. Waste and Plastic
Australia generated 75.6 million tonnes of waste in 2022–23, about 2.88 tonnes per person, according to the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association. Plastic is the weak spot: of 3.2 million tonnes of plastic waste generated in 2024, only 423,000 tonnes (about 13%) was recycled, according to the government’s Australian Plastics Flows and Fates report, as reported by Recycling International.
Australia’s Environmental Issues at a Glance
| Issue | Key figure | Source | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate and heat | +1.51°C since 1910 | BoM / CSIRO, 2024 | Worsening |
| Bushfires | 33 deaths, 3,113 houses lost (2019–20) | Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC | Worsening fire weather |
| Great Barrier Reef | 6 mass bleachings since 2016 | AIMS | Worsening |
| Extinctions | 100 endemic species listed extinct since 1788 | NESP, 2019 | Ongoing |
| Land clearing | 274,616 ha cleared in Queensland (2023–24) | Queensland Government | Slowing |
| Rivers | 20–30 million fish died at Menindee (2023) | NSW Chief Scientist | Mixed |
| Emissions | About 25% below 2005 (year to March 2026) | Quarterly inventory update | Improving slowly |
| Waste | About 13% of plastic waste recycled (2024) | Australian Plastics Flows and Fates | Flat |
What Is Being Done
- Cleaner electricity. Renewables supplied 41.6% of electricity in the National Electricity Market in 2024–25, and coal supplied less than half for the first time, according to AEMO as reported by the Canberra Times. The target is 82% renewable electricity by 2030. For how the technology compares, see our guide to wind power pros and cons.
- Zero new extinctions. The 10-year Threatened Species Action Plan: Towards Zero Extinctions aims to prevent any new extinctions of plants and animals, with 110 priority species and 20 priority places (Minister for the Environment).
- Protected areas. In 2024, about 23% of Australia’s land and 49% of its oceans were protected areas, according to the ABS.
- Stronger nature laws. In November 2025, Parliament passed reforms to the national environment law that create a national Environment Protection Agency, national environmental standards and higher penalties, according to a White & Case summary. The reforms do not include a climate trigger for project approvals.
Australia’s climate and environment rules changed several times in 2025–26. Check the latest official announcements before relying on any specific target or law.
What You Can Do
Australia is far away, but its problems still carry practical lessons:
- Learn from its fire seasons. If you live in a fire-prone area, keep vegetation away from your home and follow local air quality alerts on smoky days.
- Travel responsibly. If you visit the Great Barrier Reef, follow the Reef Authority’s responsible reef practices: avoid touching any part of the reef, and if you are on a boat, use public moorings where available and do not anchor in no-anchoring areas.
- Compare countries. Our overview of global environmental issues puts Australia in world context, and our articles on environmental issues in Canada and environmental issues in Mexico show how other countries compare. For a school project, our guide to human-environment interaction explains how people depend on, adapt to and modify their environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest environmental issue in Australia?
There is no official ranking, but climate change affects several of the others. The Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO link it to more extreme fire weather, and AIMS calls it the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Australia has warmed by 1.51°C (2.7°F) since 1910.
Why does Australia have so many extinctions?
Mammal extinctions were caused mainly by introduced predators, and plant extinctions mainly by habitat loss, according to a 2019 National Environmental Science Program study. One hundred endemic species, including 34 mammals, are listed as extinct since 1788.
Is the Great Barrier Reef dying?
It is under severe stress but not dead. It has bleached six times since 2016, yet coral cover in the northern and central regions rose in 2026 surveys. AIMS still calls climate change the greatest threat to the reef.
Is Australia reducing its emissions?
Yes, slowly. Emissions in the year to March 2026 were 25% below 2005, and renewables supplied 41.6% of electricity in the main grid in 2024–25. But coal and gas exports are still forecast to earn more than A$120 billion in 2025–26.
