Energy is a major contributor to Australia's economy.
However, like land use, energy use from non-renewable sources has important environmental consequences which impact upon ecological sustainability. Australia's economic energy resources are dominated by coal and uranium. The utilisation of coal to generate power to sustain the economy has well known harmful atmospheric effects on both humans and the environment. Likewise, the extraction and processing of uranium is not without problems, given the high profile and hazardous nature of the material. Although Australia has a favourable climate for solar energy applications, its use is far below its potential.