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Climate change responses, transitioning to a zero-carbon built environment, protecting biodiversity, green space, and food and water resources

Urban policy frameworks across Australia present an uneven treatment of environmental issues. While some metropolitan planning strategies are explicit about the role of cities policy in addressing climate change, for example through preparing for rising water levels, increasing likelihood of natural disasters and other environmental hazards, others do not account for this in detail.

Australian cities have grown rapidly, extending the built environment into former greenfield sites, increasing the consumption of natural resources and creating the need for better urban amenity in densifying built-up areas. At the same time, environmental changes are impacting Australia’s cities through higher average temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events and diminishing availability of fresh water.