The Australian government has expanded its protected waters, claiming it now protects more waters than any other nation on earth, it said as host of the first Global Nature Positive Summit in Sydney.

The government signed off on a 310,000 km-sq expansion of the sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Park.

It means 52% of Australia’s oceans are now under protection, exceeding the country’s international target to protect 30% of oceans as part of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) it signed up to in 2022, according to the government.

“I am pleased to announce today that the Albanese Labor Government has signed off a massive expansion of Australia’s most remote marine park – bringing more than half of Australian oceans under protection, for the first time ever,” Australian Minister for the Environment Tanya Plibersek said in her opening address of the summit.

“This means that Australia is now protecting more ocean than any other country on the planet.”

Heard and McDonald Islands lie around 4,000 kilometres southwest of Western Australia, with the government saying the decision came after extensive consultation with researchers, conservationists, and the fishing industry.

In her speech, Plibersek outlined the developments the Labor government was pursuing to restore and protect nature, including the establishment of the Nature Repair Market, as well as efforts to set up national environmental protection and information agencies.

She also raised the government’s newly established Green Bond Program, as well as work with the US and Canada to create standardised natural capital accounting, as examples of encouraging the private sector to invest in nature restoration.

It comes as more than 20 Australian organisations announced a network to drive private investment in nature repair, including airline Qantas, and pension fund Rest Super.

The Nature Positive Matters members will work together to support business uptake of nature-related reporting and data collection, pilot programmes to inform policies that are good for nature, among other initiatives.

More than 20 Australian businesses and financial institutions have also signed up to report on their nature risks and impacts using Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) international standards, the government noted.

SOMETHING’S MISSING

However, Plibersek’s remarks included no new financial commitments from the government to pursue restoration and protection activities, as environmental groups have urged for more direct investments from the government and for it to stop approving new fossil fuel projects.

The summit comes roughly two weeks following Plibersek approving the expansion of three coal mines in New South Wales, which climate groups said flew in the face of the government’s work to address the climate and biodiversity crises.

In a joint media release published Friday, Australian NGOs and industry groups pushed for a greater focus on nature protection and restoration, noting there was still much work to do.

“Like other economies, Australia is grappling with the inter-dependence of a strong national economy with a healthy natural environment. Awareness is rising and will require significant goodwill and broad collaboration to devise workable solutions that support productivity and prosperity,” the statement said.

“While some Australian organisations are ready to report on their interface with nature, others are just getting started. Understanding organisational impact and dependence on nature and biodiversity must be the entry point for business and investors.”

Signatories included the Australian Conservation Foundation, Chartered Accountants Australia, Australia Industry Group, and the Insurance Council of Australia.

While the joint statement said the Nature Positive Summit would be an opportunity to operationalise the GBF, the summit itself has been met with a degree of scepticism by some environmental groups, given the government’s track record to date.

The summit itself has also not quite achieved the global scope it had originally aspired toward, mostly as a result of the next UN Biodiversity Conference being held in Colombia later this month.

In remarks appearing to address the government’s critics, Plibersek said “To those who might demand perfection and jump on anyone who falls short while they are learning and trying – I urge you to listen, talk, and persuade instead. Make the case. Win people over, don’t alienate them.”

By Mark Tilly in Sydney – mark@carbon-pulse.com