Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time. The research is settled, we need dramatic reductions in greenhouse emissions to avoid dangerous climate change. And cities account for approximately 75 to 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, which means it’s essential we take action in our cities.
We have set ambitious targets to reduce the greenhouse emissions of our organisation and the local government area by 70 per cent on 2006 levels by 2030. These targets far exceed those of Federal Liberal and Labor Governments, and we are on track to meet our targets, but action is urgently needed by all levels of government.
The City became carbon neutral in 2007 and was the first government in Australia to be certified as such. Since 2006, our organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by 26 per cent and emissions across our local government area reduced by 19 per cent at a time of strong economic growth — and achieved a 36 per cent reduction in 'carbon intensity'.
We have installed trigeneration and solar panels at Town Hall to supply green energy to our offices and Town Hall itself. Other major projects include a roll-out of LED lighting and one of Australia’s largest rooftop solar installations.
Our innovative masterplans will help us achieve our 70 per cent reduction goal through renewable energy, energy efficiency, trigeneration, advanced waste treatment, climate change adaptation and total water provision. Our environmental leadership has been recognised by multiple international awards.
Our Better Building Partnership, a partnership with the owners of over 50 per cent of commercial properties in the CBD, has saved $30 million in electricity costs and reduced emissions by 45 per cent since they signed up to our 2030 goals.