The Australian Capital Territory plans to phase out natural gas, electrify its bus fleets and public school buildings, and introduce incentives for drivers who buy electric cars.
The ACT government announced its climate strategy for 2019-25 on Monday, with several nation-first policies it said would further the territory’s “global leading climate efforts”.
The ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, said the plan had significant environmental objectives as the territory moved to cut emissions by 50-60% on 1990 levels by 2025, and transition to net zero emissions by 2045.
But he said the territory also wanted to make sure the transition was “a just one for our community” that capitalised on the economic development opportunities of shifting to a carbon-neutral economy.
“At a high level I think it demonstrates national leadership, international leadership in certain areas, and provides us with a very clear, considered pathway forward as we respond to the challenges of climate change,” Barr said.
Barr said there was public appetite for change and “a lot of distress at the lack of action at a national level” as the impacts of the climate crisis became more visible.
“Rightly there is a focus on state and territory and local governments to show some leadership here and to work with their local communities, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
The government said a number of its proposals were firsts for an Australian jurisdiction.
They include the development of a plan to achieve net zero emissions from gas by 2045, applying a social cost of carbon in government procurement and capital works, and meeting the ACT’s emissions reduction targets without the purchase of offsets.
Under the plan, all new ACT public schools and government buildings would be 100% powered by renewable electricity and the territory’s bus fleet will be entirely electric by 2040.
The ACT is due to achieve its target of 100% renewable-generated electricity on 1 October.
The next wave of policy is focused on transport and gas because those sectors make up 61% and 22% of the territory’s emissions respectively.
But the government acknowledged that drastically reducing emissions from those sectors would require behavioural change from the community. In the case of transport, 95% of the territory’s emissions come from privately owned vehicles.
The new strategy says the uptake of electric vehicles will naturally increase as they move closer to cost parity with petrol and diesel in coming years, but also notes it will require incentives for drivers to speed up that transition.
The government said it would also have to invest more in infrastructure that will “Copenhagenise” the city by encouraging walking and cycling.
The ACT’s climate change and sustainability minister, Shane Rattenbury, said the plan was aimed at preparing the national capital for “a hotter and drier future”.
In January the ACT recorded four consecutive days above 40C – a record for the capital – and its mean maximum was a record breaking 34.5C (6.3C above average).
The new climate strategy includes a 30% tree canopy target to reduce the impacts of urban heat and a 30% surface permeability target – that is, surfaces made from materials that retain more moisture.
It also proposes assistance for low-income residents and retraining of workers in affected industries.
“We will need to work with the community,” Rattenbury said.
But he said it was “imperative we make these changes” because without action “people’s lives will change for the worse whether they like it or not”.
