STATE PLAN TARGET E3: Meet national air quality goals as identified in the National Environment Protection Measure for Ambient Air Quality
Sydneysiders can breathe easier than they could 15 years ago thanks to a 30 per cent reduction in air pollution emissions.
Premier Morris Iemma said despite a 10 per cent increase in Sydney's population and an extra 640,000 cars on the roads, harmful emissions had fallen by a third.
Mr Iemma released the results in the Air Emissions Inventory for the Greater Metropolitan Region - the NSW Government's most ambitious attempt to identify all the natural and man-made sources of air pollution.
"This report is both encouraging and reassuring - particularly for the quality of life of the 60 per cent of NSW residents who live in the Sydney basin," Mr Iemma said.
"This is a significant achievement which should not be underestimated.
"We've managed to reduce emissions during a time at which the NSW economy has doubled in size.
"Residents, motorists, businesses and government agencies have all made a contribution to the significant improvement in Sydney's air quality.
"Clearly our efforts to protect both human health and the environment from harmful air pollutants have not been at the expense of economic growth."
Mr Iemma said factors contributing to the cleaner air included:
- Reducing lead in fuels;
- Bans on backyard burning;
- New regulations for industry which slash pollution levels by up to 5 times - the equivalent of taking 100,000 trucks off NSW roads over the next 20 years;
- The smoky vehicle enforcement program which issues 1500 fines and 2,000 warning letters each year;
- Green car benchmarks;
- Load based licensing; and
- Petrol vapour recovery technology for tankers refueling at service stations.
"New technologies together with tougher anti-pollution laws have made a real difference in cutting harmful emissions," Mr Iemma said.
"But while we have won a number of important battles, the fight for clean air is by no means over - new actions will be needed if we are to meet the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves as part of the NSW State Plan."
Assistant Environment Minister Verity Firth said the Inventory was the NSW Government's main tool for measuring emissions of harmful pollutants, pinpointing the emitters, and understanding Sydney's few high pollution days.
"All the world's big cities face the problem of air pollution created by their size, population densities and industrial facilities," Ms Firth said.
"With more than four million residents, Sydney is one of the world's 60 biggest cities."
Between 1992 and 2003, the noticeable improvement in Sydney's air quality was driven by declining annual emissions of all the principal air pollutants:
- Carbon monoxide (CO) fell by 273,469 tonnes or 34 per cent;
- Sulphur dioxide (SO2) fell by 6,000 tonnes or 30 per cent;
- Volatile organic compound (VOC) fell by 39,800 tonnes or 23 per cent;
- Fine particles (PM10) fell by 4,100 tonnes or 16 per cent; and
- Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) fell by 8,900 tonnes or 9 per cent.
Ms Firth said the latest Emissions Inventory highlighted the need for new initiatives targeting the commercial/domestic sector - such as auto repair shops, lawn mowers and garden equipment, service stations and recreational boats.
"Many of us haven't previously associated these activities with air pollution, yet the latest data places them firmly on the Government's radar," Ms Firth said.
"They are now the single biggest source of volatile organic compounds, which along with oxides of nitrogen is responsible for Sydney's summer smogs.
"For example, a typical four-stroke cycle lawnmower produces as much pollution in one hour as four cars do over the same period of time.
"The NSW Government will continue to work with local councils to institute the practical measures that will help reduce the air pollution being produced within their local communities."
The Air Emissions Inventory will now be used to inform the NSW Government's third Clean Air Forum on Friday, 23 November.
"The Forum will be an opportunity to consolidate the gains we've made as well as identify where further substantial cuts are possible over the next five years.
"If we don't act now, climate change with its hotter summers will simply increase the frequency and severity of high pollution days."
