National Clean Air Agreement
In December 2015, Australia’s environment ministers established the National Clean Air Agreement (NCAA). The agreement seeks to ensure that the community continues to enjoy clean air and address the impacts on human health and the environment.
The agreement focuses on actions to reduce air pollution and improve air quality through cooperative action between industry and government at the national, state and local levels. The agreement is designed to incorporate a range of existing, new and complementary measures to improve Australia’s air quality.
In April 2018, the federal, state and territory Environment Ministers agreed on a 2018–2020 work plan which outlines the roles, responsibilities and timeframes to implement actions listed on the work plan. Actions listed under the work plan include the following:
- review of national ambient air quality standards for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, fuel quality standards and the National Pollutant Inventory.
- completion of the adoption of new emission and efficiency standards for new wood heaters.
- evaluation on the potential for a national approach to manage non-road diesel engine emissions.
The work plan is formally reviewed by the Environment Ministers every 2 years to ensure that actions under the NCAA is relevant and to maintain accountability for delivery.
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