Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on Law and Policy in Australia

Examining and Strengthening Laws on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on Law and Policy in Australia
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April 17, 2023
Abstract
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established in 2015 as a comprehensive global plan to address pressing social, economic, and environmental issues by 2030. However, recent research by Kiara Worth (2023) and Biermann et al. (2022) argues that the SDGs fail to have a meaningful impact, particularly in law and policy. This paper critically evaluates the impact of SDGs on law and policy in Australia, focusing on three intersecting goals: Goal 13 (Climate Action), Goal 14 (Life Below Water), and Goal 15 (Life on Land). The paper examines the current legal and policy frameworks for achieving the SDGs in Australia, identifies a significant barrier preventing the delivery of the SDGs through law or policy, and proposes a potential reform to enhance their implementation. Drawing on the experiences of other countries that have successfully established national coordination mechanisms, the paper suggests creating a similar mechanism in Australia to improve the coherence and effectiveness of its SDG-related laws and policies, thus accelerating progress toward achieving the goals. The findings of this paper underscore the urgency for Australia and other countries to redouble their efforts and commit to the transformative change necessary to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established in 2015, were designed as a global strategy to address urgent social, economic, and environmental challenges by 2030. However, recent studies by Worth (2023) and Biermann et al. (2022) contend that the SDGs have yet to have a significant impact, particularly within law and policy. This essay ventures into the complex, intricate, and dynamic intricacies surrounding the influence of the SDGs on Australia's law and policy. Accordingly, the author of this paper seeks to examine three critical questions, namely; (1) whether the current law or policy for achieving the SDGs and their targets is limited in Australia, (2) what barriers are preventing the delivery of the SDGs through law or policy, and (3) what are the potential reforms that could enhance their implementation. The following sections will provide an overview of these issues, which will be discussed in greater detail in the succeeding chapters of this paper.
Lack of Cohesive Framework
A primary concern regarding the SDGs' impact on law and policy in Australia is the apparent need for a cohesive, overarching framework that fully integrates the goals into national planning and decision-making processes. However, the Australian government has made commitments to the SDGs, and translating these commitments into tangible policy and legislative action is lagging. The fragmentation of responsibilities across different jurisdictions and agencies dealing with various aspects of sustainable development creates challenges in coordinating and implementing effective policies and legal measures (Sachs et al., 2018). This disjointed approach may contribute to the limited progress made thus far in achieving the SDGs.
Accordingly, examining the specific SDGs, such as Goal 13 (Climate Action), it becomes evident that Australia's current policies and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are insufficient to meet the global objectives outlined in the Paris Agreement (Climate Action Tracker, 2021). Australia's lack of ambitious climate action and its continued reliance on fossil fuels raises questions about the effectiveness of its existing policies in addressing the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation. Moreover, the country's natural resources management and biodiversity conservation policies have been criticized for their inadequacy in addressing the rapid decline of Australia's unique flora and fauna (Woinarski et al., 2019). For instance, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) has faced criticism for its complexity, inefficiency, and lack of integration with other legislation (Productivity Commission, 2020). These shortcomings and the absence of a comprehensive sustainable development strategy suggest that current laws and policies may need to be revised to achieve the SDGs and their targets in Australia.
Need for a Multifaceted Approach
Finally, addressing the barriers to delivering the SDGs through law and policy in Australia requires a multifaceted approach encompassing structural and substantive changes. One potential reform is the development of a National Sustainable Development Strategy that consolidates and harmonizes existing policies and legislation related to the SDGs. This strategy should incorporate a clear governance structure, measurable targets, indicators, and mechanisms for reporting and accountability. Establishing such a strategy would provide a coherent and coordinated approach, enabling more effective implementation of the SDGs and their targets across the country (Sachs et al., 2018).
In addition to developing a comprehensive strategy, other reforms could include revising and strengthening existing legislation and policies to align with the SDGs. For instance, updating the EPBC Act to streamline processes, improve integration with other relevant legislation, and enhance biodiversity conservation measures would contribute to achieving Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and Goal 15 (Life on Land). Furthermore, Australia could adopt a more ambitious climate change policy and bolster its efforts to conserve biodiversity. This might entail increasing investment in renewable energy, adopting more stringent emissions reduction targets, and engaging with stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, civil society, and the private sector, to ensure the successful implementation of these reforms (Garnaut, 2019).
Insufficient Inclusive and Participatory Approach
Moreover, addressing the barriers to achieving the SDGs through law and policy in Australia necessitates fostering a more inclusive and participatory approach to sustainable development decision-making. Engaging a diverse range of stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and academia, can ensure that various perspectives and interests are considered and incorporated into the formulation of policies and legislation. This collaborative approach can facilitate greater buy-in from all relevant actors, promoting shared responsibility and commitment to achieving the SDGs (Chand, 2020).
Enhancement of Transparency and Accountability
Enhancing transparency and accountability mechanisms is another critical aspect of implementing the SDGs more effectively in Australia. Ensuring that the government and other relevant actors are held accountable for their progress (or lack thereof) in achieving the SDGs can help pressure decision-makers to prioritize sustainable development in their policies and actions. This could involve establishing common reporting frameworks and independent monitoring bodies to assess the country's progress toward the SDGs and provide recommendations for improvement (Biermann et al., 2022).
The Necessity to Improve Public Awareness and Education
Lastly, fostering public awareness and education on the SDGs is crucial for promoting their successful implementation. Greater understanding and appreciation of the goals and their relevance to Australia's sustainable development can help build public support for the necessary policy and legislative changes. In this regard, leveraging the media, educational institutions, and other communication channels to disseminate information about the SDGs and their significance is essential for fostering a culture of sustainability in the country (Worth, 2023).
Overall, the United Nations SDGs, conceived as a global strategy to address pressing social, economic, and environmental issues by 2030, have yet to yield a significant impact within Australia's law and policy domain. Thus, in the succeeding sections of this paper, the author strongly believes that achieving these ambitious goals is crucial for ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for the country and the global community.
Background and Legal Framework
As mentioned earlier, Australia, as a signatory to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development since 2015, has committed to implementing the SDGs nationally. The legal framework for achieving the SDGs in Australia encompasses diverse legislation, policies, and strategies addressing the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Analyzing the legal framework within the country is essential to have a foundational analysis of the necessary changes to implement lasting change.
Australia’s SDG-compliant Laws
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999
One key piece of legislation within the country is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). The EPBC serves as a critical piece of legislation that provides a legal framework for protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity in Australia. Additionally, the Act sets out a range of provisions for identifying, managing, and protecting matters of national environmental significance, such as threatened species and ecological communities, migratory species, and marine and coastal environments. While the EPBC Act addresses several aspects of the SDGs, particularly Goals 14 (Life Below Water) and 15 (Life on Land), it has been criticized for its complexity, inefficiency, and lack of integration with other relevant legislation (Productivity Commission, 2020).
Climate Change Authority Act of 2011
In addition to the EPBC Act, the Climate Change Authority Act 2011 (Cth) establishes the Climate Change Authority, an independent body responsible for providing expert advice on Australia's climate change policies. The Authority plays a crucial role in informing the government's approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation, which is relevant to Goal 13 (Climate Action). However, Australia's climate change policy has been criticized for its perceived lack of ambition and coherence, particularly concerning emissions reduction targets and the transition to a low-carbon economy (Garnaut, 2019). This raises questions about the adequacy of the existing legal framework in addressing the urgent need for climate action in line with the SDGs.
The National Strategy for Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation
The National Strategy for Australia's Biodiversity Conservation 2010-2030 is another important policy instrument that aims to protect and conserve Australia's biodiversity, thereby contributing to the achievement of both Goal 14 and Goal 15. The strategy provides a comprehensive framework for action across all levels of government, as well as the involvement of non-government actors, such as private landholders, industry, and the broader community. However, recent assessments of the strategy's effectiveness have highlighted shortcomings in its implementation, including inadequate funding, insufficient monitoring and evaluation, and a lack of collaboration and coordination among stakeholders (Woinarski et al., 2019).
Other International Agreements
At the international level, Australia is also party to various multilateral environmental agreements that have implications for achieving the SDGs, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These international treaties and their associated protocols and decisions guide global norms and standards for environmental protection and sustainable development. However, translating these international commitments into domestic law and policy can be challenging due to the complexities of Australia's federal system and the need to balance competing interests and priorities (Chand, 2020).
Critique of the Legal Framework
Despite a range of legislative and policy instruments aimed at promoting sustainable development in Australia, the research by Worth (2023) and Biermann et al. (2022) suggests that the SDGs have yet to impact law and policy significantly. As argued earlier in this paper, while the SDGs have generated changes in discourse and discussion, there needs to be more evidence of tangible impacts on actual legal and policy outcomes. This may be attributed to various factors, including the voluntary nature of the SDGs, the complexity of the goals and targets, and the need for a coherent national strategy for their implementation in Australia.
Moreover, the research by Worth (2023) and Biermann et al. (2022) highlights the need for a more robust assessment of the effectiveness of existing legislation and policies in addressing the SDGs. This includes identifying gaps and inconsistencies and evaluating the extent to which these instruments contribute to the achievement of the goals and targets in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Such an assessment would necessitate the involvement of a diverse range of stakeholders, including government, civil society, the private sector, and academia, to ensure a comprehensive and balanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing the SDGs in Australia.
One potential approach to addressing the limitations of Australia's current legal and policy framework for sustainable development is the development of a National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS), which could provide a coherent and integrated roadmap for achieving the SDGs. Such a strategy could help harmonize the various existing legislative and policy instruments and establish clear priorities, targets, and indicators for monitoring progress toward the SDGs (Griggs et al., 2017). This would involve a whole-of-government approach, with strong leadership from the highest levels of government, as well as the active engagement of all relevant sectors and stakeholders.
Furthermore, in relation to the overview provided in the introduction, achieving the SDGs through law and policy in Australia necessitates fostering a more inclusive and participatory approach to sustainable development decision-making. Engaging a diverse range of stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and academia, can ensure that various perspectives and interests are considered and incorporated into the formulation of policies and legislation. This collaborative approach can facilitate greater buy-in from all relevant actors, promoting shared responsibility and commitment to achieving the SDGs (Chand, 2020).
Additionally, Enhancing transparency and accountability mechanisms is another critical aspect of implementing the SDGs more effectively in Australia. Ensuring that the government and other relevant actors are held accountable for their progress (or lack thereof) in achieving the SDGs can help pressure decision-makers to prioritize sustainable development in their policies and actions. This could involve establishing common reporting frameworks and independent monitoring bodies to assess the country's progress toward the SDGs and provide recommendations for improvement (Biermann et al., 2022).
Lastly, fostering public awareness and education on the SDGs is crucial for promoting their successful implementation. For example, the implantation mechanisms, rules, and regulations about international laws and treaties should be given more weight by integrating them into the general education and curriculum of students in the country. This is because a greater understanding and appreciation of the goals and their relevance to Australia's sustainable development can help build public support for the necessary policy and legislative changes. In this regard, leveraging the media, educational institutions, and other communication channels to disseminate information about the SDGs and their significance is essential for fostering a culture of sustainability in the country (Worth, 2023).
Discussions on Barriers and Improvements
Limited Impact of Law and Policy
As mentioned at the beginning of the paper, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged as an ambitious global agenda for addressing critical social, economic, and environmental challenges by 2030. It is essential to highlight this over again. Despite Australia's commitment to implementing the SDGs since 2015, recent research by Worth (2023) and Biermann et al. (2022) suggests that the current legal framework in the country needs to be revised to achieve the goals effectively. Accordingly, this section will delve into the reasons behind this insufficiency, focusing on the Australian legal landscape, external evidence, and case studies.
Lack of Comprehensive and Unified Strategy
Firstly, a fundamental issue with the Australian legal framework concerning SDGs is the need for a comprehensive national strategy for implementation. Although various legislative and policy instruments address different aspects of sustainable development, there needs to be a unified approach that integrates these efforts toward achieving the SDGs (Griggs et al., 2017). This lack of coherence can result in conflicting objectives, overlapping responsibilities, and inefficient use of resources (Chand, 2020). As suggested earlier, a National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) could provide a much-needed roadmap for harmonizing existing legislative and policy efforts and establishing clear priorities, targets, and indicators for tracking progress.
Non-mandatory Nature
Secondly, the voluntary nature of the SDGs poses a significant challenge to their practical implementation in Australia. The goals are not legally binding, so countries have considerable discretion in determining their level of commitment and action (Biermann et al., 2022). This situation can lead to complacency or selective implementation, wherein governments focus on areas with immediate political or economic benefits rather than addressing more complex, long-term sustainable development issues (Worth, 2023). Consequently, embedding the SDGs into legally binding instruments, such as national legislation or international treaties, could be instrumental in ensuring a higher degree of commitment and action from governments.
Gaps in Legislation
Moreover, existing legislation and policies in Australia often need to address the interconnected nature of the SDGs adequately. As highlighted in the Murray-Darling Basin water crisis, the interplay between environmental sustainability (Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation), agricultural productivity (Goal 2: Zero Hunger), and climate resilience (Goal 13: Climate Action) reveals the necessity for integrated policy approaches that recognize and respond to these complex relationships (Grafton & Williams, 2020). However, the current legal framework in Australia tends to address these issues in isolation, which undermines the potential for achieving the SDGs holistically and synergistically.
Lack of Transparency and Accountability
Additionally, the existing legal framework in Australia needs to have the necessary mechanisms for ensuring transparency and accountability in implementing the SDGs. Biermann et al. (2022) point out that robust monitoring and reporting frameworks are critical for tracking progress, identifying gaps, and holding governments accountable for their commitments. However, Australia's current approach to monitoring and reporting on the SDGs is fragmented and lacks consistency, which hampers the effective evalu...