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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POST WAS UPDATED IN SEPTEMBER 2024. PLEASE GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR THE UPDATED VERSION:
Net zero commitments by states, local governments and communities – September 2024
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100% Renewables has been tracking ambitious carbon and renewable energy commitments made by all levels of Australian governments since we developed the 100% Renewable Energy Master Plan for Lismore City Council in 2014. In May 2017, we published our first blog post on the energy and carbon commitments of states, territories and local governments. In March 2018, we posted an update of the carbon and renewable energy commitments, and then again in October 2018.
With the ever-increasing number of ambitious public commitments being made by local councils, this update splits the commitments of local governments into ones that focus on council operations and those that focus on their communities.
For the first time, we are also now covering membership by local councils of the Cities Power Partnership, CEDAMIA, the Global Compact of Mayors, and C40.
As has now become customary, we present a graphic with state and territories commitments. We also show state-by-state commitments by local governments and communities. The ACT, NSW and Victorian councils are still leading the way.
States’ and territories’ climate change commitments
States and territories are committing to both renewable energy as well as carbon reduction targets. Most targets are in line with the Paris Agreement, which means that zero net emissions have to be reached by mid-century.
| STATE OR TERRITORY | RENEWABLE ENERGY COMMITMENT | CARBON COMMITMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | ~20% from renewable energy sources by 2020 (33,000 GWh by 2020) (Target achieved) | 26-28% emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030 |
| ACT | 100% renewable electricity by 2020 (Target achieved in October 2019) | 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on 1990 levels by 2020 Zero net emissions by 2045 |
| NSW | 20% from renewable energy in line with the RET | Zero net emissions by 2050 |
| NT | 50% renewable energy by 2030 | Zero net emissions by 2050 |
| SA | 50% renewable energy production by 2025 (Target achieved in 2018) | Zero net emissions by 2050 |
| TAS | 100% renewable energy by 2022 | Commitment to establish a zero net emissions target by 2050 |
| QLD | 50% renewable energy by 2030 | Zero net emissions by 2050 |
| VIC | 25% renewable energy by 2020 40% renewable energy by 2025 50% renewable energy by 2030 | Zero net emissions by 2050 |
| WA | No target | Zero net emissions by 2050 |
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100% Renewables is proud to have developed many of the renewable energy strategies and plans for councils that have committed to ambitious targets. We are also involved with many other councils that are delivering on their targets, including:
- Broken Hill Council
- Blue Mountains City Council
- Coffs Harbour City Council
- Inner West Council
- Kyogle Council
- Lismore City Council
- Nambucca Shire Council
- Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
- City of Parramatta Council
- Randwick City Council
- Tweed Shire Council
- Willoughby City Council
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by NSW councils and the ACT Government
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by VIC councils
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by QLD councils
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by SA councils
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by WA councils
Community climate change commitments
Until recently, most local governments focused on their own operations by developing targets and actions plans. With the increasing need to rapidly reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change, more and more councils are now looking at how they can lead and facilitate carbon mitigation in their communities.
The following table shows renewable energy and carbon commitments made by local governments on behalf of their community.
| STATE OR TERRITORY | COMMUNITY | RENEWABLE ENERGY COMMITMENT | CARBON COMMITMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Byron Bay Community | Net zero by 2025 | |
| NSW | Hawkesbury City Council | Carbon neutral LGA by 2036 | |
| NSW | Inner West Council | 100% of schools have installed solar by 2036 Solar PV capacity is 20 times greater than in 2017 by 2036 | Community emissions are 75% less than in 2017 in 2036 |
| NSW | Lockhart | Plan for town to be powered by renewable energy and operating on a microgrid | |
| NSW | Mullumbimby | 100% renewable energy by 2020 | |
| NSW | Sydney | Reduce emissions by 70% for the LGA by 2030 Net zero emissions for the LGA by 2050 |
|
| NSW | Tyalgum Village | Plan to be off the grid 100% renewable energy, with batteries | |
| NSW | Uralla Town | Plan to be first zero net energy town | |
| NSW | Willoughby City Council | By 2028, our community will emit 30% less GHG emissions compared with 2010/11 | |
| VIC | City of Darebin | Zero net carbon emissions across Darebin by 2020 | |
| VIC | Healesville | Net zero town by 2027 | |
| VIC | Hobsons Bay | Reach zero net GHG emissions from the communitys activities by 2030 | |
| VIC | Glen Eira | Net zero emissions from the community by 2050 | |
| VIC | Melbourne | Net zero emissions by 2050 | |
| VIC | Moreland Council | Zero carbon emissions Moreland by 2040 | |
| VIC | Natimuk | 100% renewable energy with community solar farm | |
| VIC | Newstead Village | Plan to be 100% renewable | |
| VIC | Warrnambool Council | Carbon neutral city by 2040 | |
| VIC | Wyndham | Zero net GHG emissions from electricity use in the municipality by 2040 | |
| VIC | Yackandandah Town | 100% renewable energy by 2022 | |
| WA | City of Fremantle | Zero carbon for LGA by 2025 | |
| WA | Perth | 32% reduction in citywide emissions by 2031 |
At this stage, only the NSW graphic has been split into council operations’ and communities’ commitments. For other states, please refer to the maps in the previous section.
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by NSW communities
Local governments in Australia that have declared a climate emergency
Local governments are playing a key role in leading the climate emergency response, which is why CEDAMIA (derived from Climate Emergency Declaration and Mobilisation In Action) campaigns for a Climate Emergency Declaration at all levels of government.
CEDAMIA calls on all Australian federal, state, and territory parliaments and all local councils to:
- Declare a climate emergency
- Commit to providing maximum protection for all people, economies, species, ecosystems, and Civilisations, and to fully restoring a safe climate
- Mobilise the required resources and take effective action at the necessary scale and speed
- Transform the economy to zero emissions and make a fair contribution to drawing down the excess carbon dioxide in the air, and
- Encourage all other governments around the world to take these same actions.
CEDAMIA works in conjunction in conjunction with CACE – Council Action in the Climate Emergency. Step 1 is to declare a climate emergency, and step 2 is to mobilise your community and move into emergency mode. According to CACE, a local government’s key role is to
- Lobby state and national governments to adopt and fund full climate emergency response
- Encourage other councils to implement a climate emergency response through networks and by leading by example
- Have local emergency action through education, mitigation and resilience building
- Educating council staff about the climate emergency and what council can do to respond
For a great example of a climate emergency plan, download the Climate Emergency Darebin Strategic Plan.
The following local governments have declared a climate emergency:
| STATE | LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
|---|---|
| ACT | Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly |
| NSW | Bega Valley Shire Council |
| NSW | Bellingen Shire Council |
| NSW | Blue Mountains City Council |
| NSW | Broken Hill City Council |
| NSW | Byron Shire Council |
| NSW | Canada Bay City Council |
| NSW | Canterbury Bankstown City Council |
| NSW | Central Coast Council |
| NSW | Clarence Valley Council |
| NSW | Glen Innes Severn Shire Council |
| NSW | Hawkesbury City Council |
| NSW | Inner West Council |
| NSW | Lane Cove Council |
| NSW | Lismore City Council |
| NSW | Newcastle City Council |
| NSW | North Sydney Council |
| NSW | Northern Beaches Council |
| NSW | Randwick City Council |
| NSW | Ryde City Council |
| NSW | Sydney City Council |
| NSW | Tweed Shire Council |
| NSW | Upper Hunter Shire Council |
| NSW | Wollongong City Council |
| NSW | Woollahra Municipal Council |
| NT | Darwin City Council |
| QLD | Noosa Shire Council |
| SA | Adelaide City Council |
| SA | Adelaide Hills Council |
| SA | Burnside City Council |
| SA | Gawler Town Council |
| SA | Light Regional Council |
| SA | Parliament of South Australia Upper House |
| SA | Port Adelaide Enfield City Council |
| SA | Port Lincoln City Council |
| TAS | Hobart City Council |
| TAS | Kingborough Council |
| TAS | Launceston City Council |
| VIC | Ballarat City Council |
| VIC | Banyule City Council |
| VIC | Bass Coast Shire Council |
| VIC | Brimbank City Council |
| VIC | Cardinia Shire Council |
| VIC | Darebin City Council |
| VIC | Hepburn Shire Council |
| VIC | Hobsons Bay City Council |
| VIC | Indigo Shire Council |
| VIC | Maribyrnong City Council |
| VIC | Melbourne City Council |
| VIC | Moonee Valley City Council |
| VIC | Moreland City Council |
| VIC | Mornington Peninsula Shire Council |
| VIC | Port Phillip City Council |
| VIC | Surf Coast Shire Council |
| VIC | Warrnambool City Council |
| VIC | Yarra City Council |
| VIC | Yarra Ranges Council |
| WA | Augusta-Margaret River Shire Council |
| WA | Denmark Shire Council |
| WA | Fremantle City Council |
| WA | Swan City Council |
| WA | Town of Victoria Park |
| WA | Vincent City Council |
Local Governments that are members of Cities Power Partnership
The Cities Power Partnership (CPP) is Australia’s largest local government climate network, made up over 113 councils from across the country, representing almost 11 million Australians. Local councils who join the partnership make five action pledges in either renewable energy, efficiency, transport or working in partnership to tackle climate change.
There are dozens of actions that councils can choose from ranging from putting solar on council assets, switching to electric vehicles, to opening up old landfills for new solar farms. The following table shows current local government members of CPP.
| STATE | LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
|---|---|
| ACT | Canberra |
| NSW | Albury City Council |
| NSW | Bathurst Regional Council |
| NSW | Bayside Council |
| NSW | Bega Valley Shire |
| NSW | Bellingen Shire Council |
| NSW | Blacktown City Council |
| NSW | Blue Mountains City Council |
| NSW | Broken Hill City Council |
| NSW | Byron Shire Council |
| NSW | City of Canterbury-Bankstown |
| NSW | Central Coast Council |
| NSW | Coffs Harbour |
| NSW | Cumberland Council |
| NSW | Eurobodalla Council |
| NSW | Georges River Council |
| NSW | Hawkesbury City Council |
| NSW | Hornsby Shire Council |
| NSW | Inner West Council |
| NSW | Kiama Council |
| NSW | Ku-ring-gai Council |
| NSW | Lane Cove Council |
| NSW | Lismore City Council |
| NSW | Mosman Council |
| NSW | MidCoast Council |
| NSW | Muswellbrook Shire Council |
| NSW | Nambucca Shire Council |
| NSW | The City of Newcastle |
| NSW | Northern Beaches Council |
| NSW | North Sydney Council |
| NSW | Orange City Council |
| NSW | Parkes Shire Council |
| NSW | City of Parramatta |
| NSW | Penrith City Council |
| NSW | Port Macquarie-Hastings |
| NSW | Randwick City Council |
| NSW | City of Ryde |
| NSW | Shellharbour City Council |
| NSW | Shoalhaven City Council |
| NSW | City of Sydney |
| NSW | Tweed Shire |
| NSW | Upper Hunter Shire Council |
| NSW | City of Wagga Wagga |
| NSW | Waverley Council |
| NSW | Willoughby Council |
| NSW | Wingecarribee Shire |
| NSW | Woollahra Municipal Council |
| QLD | Brisbane City Council |
| QLD | Bundaberg Regional Council |
| QLD | Cairns Regional Council |
| QLD | Douglas Shire Council |
| QLD | Ipswich City Council |
| QLD | Livingstone Shire Council |
| QLD | Logan City Council |
| QLD | Mackay Regional Council |
| QLD | Noosa Shire Council |
| QLD | Sunshine Coast Council |
| SA | Adelaide Hills Council |
| SA | City of Adelaide |
| SA | Alexandrina Council |
| SA | City of Charles Sturt |
| SA | Goyder Regional Council |
| SA | Kangaroo Island Council |
| SA | Mount Barker District Council |
| SA | City of Onkaparinga |
| SA | City of Victor Harbor |
| NT | Alice Springs Town Council |
| NT | City of Darwin |
| WA | City of Armadale |
| WA | Shire of Augusta-Margaret River |
| WA | Town of Bassendean |
| WA | City of Bayswater |
| WA | City of Belmont |
| WA | City of Bunbury |
| WA | City of Busselton |
| WA | City of Canning |
| WA | City of Cockburn |
| WA | Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup |
| WA | City of Fremantle |
| WA | City of Gosnells |
| WA | City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder |
| WA | City of Kwinana |
| WA | City of Melville |
| WA | Shire of Mundaring |
| WA | Shire of Northam |
| WA | City of Rockingham |
| WA | Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale |
| WA | City of Swan |
| WA | Town of Victoria Park |
| VIC | City of Ballarat |
| VIC | Benalla Rural City Council |
| VIC | City of Boroondara |
| VIC | City of Casey |
| VIC | City of Darebin |
| VIC | City of Greater Dandenong |
| VIC | Hepburn Shire Council |
| VIC | Mildura Rural City Council |
| VIC | City of Monash |
| VIC | Moreland City Council |
| VIC | Mornington Peninsula Shire |
| VIC | Mount Alexander Shire Council |
| VIC | City of Port Phillip |
| VIC | Strathbogie Shire Council |
| VIC | Stonnington City Council |
| VIC | Rural City of Wangaratta |
| VIC | Warrnambool City Council |
| VIC | Wyndham City Council |
| VIC | City of Yarra |
| VIC | Yarra Ranges Council |
| TAS | Brighton Council |
| TAS | Northern Midlands Council |
| TAS | Huon Valley Council |
| TAS | Glamorgan Spring Bay |
Local Governments that are members of Global Covenant of Mayors
Global Covenant of Mayors or GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership. GCoM is built upon the commitment of over 10,000 cities and local governments across 6 continents and 139 countries. In total, these cities represent more than 800 million people. By 2030, Global Covenant cities and local governments could collectively reduce 1.3 billion tons of CO2 emissions per year.
In Australia, 26 councils are members of GCoM. To join the GCoM, you need to develop citywide knowledge, goals, and plans that aim at least as high as your country’s own climate protection commitment(s) or Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Climate Agreement.
As a partner of the GCoM, you need to undertake the following:
- Develop a community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory
- Assess climate risks and vulnerabilities
- Define ambitious climate mitigation, resilience and energy targets
- Create full climate action plans
| STATE | LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
|---|---|
| ACT | Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) |
| NSW | Byron Shire |
| NSW | Newcastle |
| NSW | Penrith |
| NSW | Sydney |
| NSW | Tweed Shire |
| NSW | Wollongong |
| SA | Adelaide |
| SA | Mount Barker |
| TAS | Hobart Australia |
| VIC | Darebin City Council |
| VIC | Glen Eira |
| VIC | Hobsons Bay City Council |
| VIC | Manningham |
| VIC | Maribyrnong |
| VIC | Melbourne |
| VIC | Melton |
| VIC | Moreland |
| VIC | Mornington Peninsula Shire |
| VIC | Port Phillip |
| VIC | Wyndham City Council |
| VIC | Yarra |
| WA | Joondalup |
| WA | Mandurah |
| WA | Melville |
| WA | Perth |
Local Governments that are members of C40
C40 is a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change. C40 supports cities to collaborate effectively, share knowledge and drive meaningful, measurable and sustainable action on climate change. In Australia, Melbourne and Sydney are members.
If you need help with your own target or plan
100% Renewables are experts in helping local governments and communities develop renewable energy and carbon targets and strategies. If you need help with developing a target and plan that takes your unique situation into consideration, please contact Barbara or Patrick.
Any changes?
Please let us know if there are any commitments that are missing, or if any commitment needs a correction.
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