The Australian Government’s $26 billion per year nature-harming problem revealed by study | Biodiversity Council Australia
The Australian Government’s $26 billion per year nature-harming problem revealed by study | Biodiversity Council Australia
The Australian Government’s $26 billion per year nature-harming problem revealed by study | Biodiversity Council Australia
Groundbreaking research has uncovered that the Australian Government is providing $26 billion per year in financial support to activities that harm the nation's unique natural environment, known as bi...
The study used a best-practice OECD-developed method to identify subsidies, including cash payments and tax concessions, and evaluate the potential harm to nature from the activities that they support.
“We identified 36 separate subsidies for activities that are driving environmental decline, such as native forest logging, fossil fuel mining and projects that clear native vegetation,” said Mr Elton.
“They include $22.5 billion per year in direct payments from the government and an additional $3.8 billion per year in tax concessions, totalling $26.3 billion per year, based on 2022-23 data.
“This represents about 4% of the total federal budget. That is twice as much as the federal government invests in supporting government schools nationally, and 25 times more than they spend on looking after nature.