U.S. Think Tank Questions Australia's Environmental Policies

Of the nations included in The Centre for Global Development's 'Commitment to Development Index', Australia has climbed three places since last year to twelfth with Denmark, Sweden and Norway taking out the top three places, New Zealand in 9th and South Korea last at 27.

Australia sits mid-table on aid to developing countries, security and technology, in the top half for finance and migration and is second behind New Zealand in terms of its trade policies.  However, Australia was ranked 24th for its environmental policies.  Despite work on ozone protection and support for the Kyoto protocol, Australia's dependence on carbon based fuels and their emissions had severely affected the nation's ranking.  

President of The Centre for Global Development, Nancy Birdsall, described the performance of all 27 wealthy countries over the last year as “disappointing” and suggested that they use the index as a "powerful reminder that rich world support for development is about much more than aid."  Future issues for Australia that could further impact their standing include reductions to the overseas aid budget, anticipated climate policies and a future jobs freeze.