Australia's and Victoria's Ecological Footprint

Australia's Ecological Footprint in the Living Planet Report 2008 was 7.8 global hectares (gha) per person¹. This is 2.8 times the average global Footprint (2.7 gha), and well beyond the level of what the planet can regenerate on an annual basis - an equivalent of about 2.1 global hectares per person per year.

The most significant factor contributing to the Australian Ecological Footprint is carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels (constituting approximately half of the total Australian Footprint).

¹ A global hectare refers to one hectare (approximately soccer field size) of biologically productive space with world-average productivity.

Victoria's Ecological Footprint

The average Victorian needs 6.8 global hectares of land to sustain his or her lifestyle. If everyone on the planet lived like Victorians, we would need more than four Earths to support us.

Victoria’s Footprint is slightly larger compared to Australia’s (6.6 gha per person). While the main pattern of consumption in Victoria is similar to the national average, there is a notable difference in the area of residential energy use  (mainly due to Victoria’s reliance on electricity from carbon dioxide intensive brown coal-fired power stations). Like the rest of Australia, Victorians' Footprint is large because they generally live in large cities, in relatively large houses, travel long distances, and their energy needs are currently sourced primarily from fossil fuels.

Break down of Victoria’s Footprint

To view the results of Victoria's latest Ecological Footprint study in further detail, you can download either the publication Victoria’s Ecological Footprint (Adobe PDF file, 676KB) or the full tecnhical report.