31/01/2005 - The Australian
Minister for the Environment and Heritage,
Senator Ian Campbell, today released new
emissions data from many Australian industries
on the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI)
website.
Senator Campbell said making this information
publicly available was important to help
minimise pollution.
Now in its sixth year, the NPI programme
assists industries to reduce emissions by
providing valuable benchmarking data on
emissions of 90 different substances. The
NPI is an important collaborative programme
involving the Australian and State and Territory
governments.
"It is up to all of us to pay closer
attention to pollutants and to be aware
of what we can do in our own backyards to
help keep our air, water and land clean,"
Senator Campbell said.
"Members of the public can use the
online NPI to compare emissions from individual
facilities, industrial sectors, and from
regions. The States and Territories can
use the NPI to monitor achievements by industry
in meeting environmental targets."
Senator Campbell cautioned that the NPI
data must be analysed in context.
"For example, a large amount of one
substance may be potentially less damaging
than a small amount of another substance.
I am also advised that adding different
substances can be misleading," he said.
"Industries who report this data are
taking the lead in emission reduction and
deserve praise. Companies implementing cleaner
production techniques and installing pollution
control equipment are playing a key role
in reducing pollution.
"Nearly half of the substances listed
on the NPI had decreased emissions compared
to last year's data.
"For the second year in a row there
has been a welcome decrease in emissions
of potentially harmful substances such as
lead and toluene and the number of facilities
reporting has grown 6.5% since last year.
"This is particularly pleasing at
a time when solid economic growth reflects
higher activity across many sectors. This
shows it is possible to achieve a growing
economy with a smaller environmental impact."
Emissions of air pollutants such as carbon
monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur
dioxide have remained similar to last year.
Motor vehicles continue to be the chief
source of pollutant emissions.
"I urge industry and individuals to
visit this informative website to help understand
pollution issues in their local areas and
Australia-wide. As well as providing a benchmarking
tool for industry to formulate pollution
reduction targets, I encourage people to
use the information to reduce emissions
on a local level, for example reducing dependence
on cars and installing energy efficient
appliances at home."
