AUSTRALIA 2020 SUMMIT OUTCOMES  

Population, sustainability, climate change water and the future of our cities

• Australia 2020 Initial Report [1]

In this most urgent of areas, Summit delegates opted for a whole of government response encompassing government expenditure, taxation, regulation and investment, as well as the creation of institutions to support it. Delegates called for the government's own environmental credentials to be audited, and for the environmental reporting to be included in the regular reporting of the nation's current accounts.

The group also called for a nationally consistent approach to urban and regional planning which drives water efficiency and reductions in emissions, and the creation of a National Indigenous Knowledge Centre featuring a multidisciplinary research and program delivery pertaining to climate change, sustainability and water.

Some of the more controversial suggestions as to how we deal with the current environmental challenges included the requirement that all buildings constructed beyond 2020 be carbon neutral, and the adoption of "smart meters" to track energy and water consumption. 

Finally the group called for an expansion in the use of market mechanisms to encourage sustainable water usage, and support the adoption of clean energy technologies.

So what do YOU think? Are these goals achievable, sensible or even desirable? What needs to happen on the ground for such outcomes to occur?

To read pre-Summit submissions by Open Forum participants, click here. [1]