On 22 June 2021 a group of leading mayors travelled to Canberra to launch new research showing the emission reductions planned by just 60 of Australia’s local government areas would achieve 96 percent of the current national target – a 28 percent reduction by 2030.
The research says the large emission reductions programs being planned and implemented by local councils in their cities, collectively their commitments will lead to emission reductions of 88 million tonnes of CO2e.
This local effort is almost the same as the 92 million tonnes in emission reductions envisaged by the federal government to meet its 2030 goal.
This work by cities is equivalent to taking more than 20.5 million petrol cars off the road per year.
The delegation of mayors explained that these emissions reductions could be delivered faster if there was a national program to help local governments roll out projects.
Board member of Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and Lord Mayor City of Hobart, Anna Reynolds, said, “We are calling on the Prime Minister to work with us to design a national cities emission reduction program, like many other nations have.
“It’s our view that the work of cities can be harnessed to allow Australia to set a much stronger zero emissions target at the national level.”
Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) is a global alliance for city climate leadership with over 10,500 cities and local governments from six continents and 140 countries. In total, they represent more than one billion people.
The report can be found at: gcom-oceania.org/news-blog/2021/6/18/cities-are-secret-weapon-to-achieve-net-zero.
