David Pocock backs climate trigger, urges action on invasive species after State of the Environment report

Senator Pocock has also called for a coordinated plan to tackle invasive species, which have been identified among the main culprits for a startling decline in the state of Australia's environment.

A long-time conservationist, Senator Pocock said the findings of the latest five-yearly State of the Environment report made for "sobering reading".

The report painted the picture of an environment in poor and deteriorating health, pointing the finger at governments for failing to commit enough funding to address the various pressures driving the decline.

"I think it [the report] really clearly digs into just how bad things are," Senator Pocock said.

"When you talk about the State of the Environment report, I think we have to remember that we're part of nature, and we depend on it for our survival."

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek used the report's launch on Tuesday to set out the Albanese government's vision to protect, restore and manage the environment during this three-year term.

Ms Plibersek accused the former government of a "willful neglect" of the environment, as she again criticised her predecessor Sussan Ley for refusing to release the report before the federal election in May.

The new minister announced a target of protecting 30 per cent of the nation's land and 30 per cent of its ocean by 2030, with the government also eyeing new national and marine parks.

The Labor government will draft new environmental protection legislation in 2023, after delivering a formal response to Graeme Samuel's scathing review of the EPBC Act before the end of this year.

The Coalition failed to pass its own package of environmental protection reforms in the previous term, as Labor, the Greens and key crossbenchers resisted changes which overlooked many of Professor Samuels' key recommendations.

Ms Plibersek acknowledged the process would be hard, but insisted change was needed for environmental and economic reasons.

"Without structural reform, we'll be resigning ourselves to another decade of failure; without the tools we need to arrest our decline," she said.

Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young used the report's release to urge the government to consider a so-called "climate trigger" as part of the EPBC Act overhaul, which would require a project's emissions to be factored in during the assessment process.

Professor Samuel canvassed the idea during his review, but recommended against it.

Ms Plibersek said she wouldn't rule anything out so early in her tenure, but strongly hinted the government would fall in behind Professor Samuel's position.

But Senator Pocock said the government must consider the idea.

"The [State of the Environment] report makes it so clear that climate change cuts across everything and is putting huge stress on the natural environment," he said.

"It's right that new projects, in particular new coal and gas projects, are considered in the light of these really significant effects."

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The new government has already faced criticism, including from the opposition, for not acting sooner on the Samuels review given the speed of environmental decline revealed in the report.

But Senator Pocock supported the government's timeframe, saying it was important to get the changes right.

But he said there was action which could be taken in the meantime, including cracking down on the logging of native forests.

Ms Ley, who is now deputy Liberal leader, did not comment on the report.

It was left to the opposition's environment spokesman, Jonathon Duniam, to push back against Ms Plibersek's accusations and defend the former government's record.

"Tanya Plibersek needs to get on with her job as Federal Environment Minister, rather than engage in partisan finger-pointing and game-playing," Senator Duniam said.

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