FAQs

Net zero emissions applies to reducing the greenhouse gases generated from energy, transport, land use, industrial processes, agriculture, and waste from the atmosphere down to zero.  

This is Council’s inaugural draft Climate Strategy and has been developed as an action within the Community Strategic Plan and as a requirement of the Global Covenant of Mayors framework.  

The draft Strategy’s aspirations are in line with state and federal government net zero goals and legislation.  

Reducing emission to zero is essential to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Exceeding this threshold could lead to severe and irreversible impacts on human heath, ecosystems, weather patterns, and sea levels.  

Baseline emissions are a record of greenhouse gases that were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. 2020-21 is when Council committed to net zero and joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy program. 

The baseline emissions from financial year 2020–21 is the reference point against which emissions reduction actions can be measured. 

Emission calculations within the draft Strategy have been prepared in accordance with the international guidelines agreed for use for the Paris Agreement, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 Guidelines for the Preparation of National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2006). 

Council engaged a third-party consultant to review and validate the draft Strategy’s emission calculations. 

The community emissions for 2020-21 are 1,982,831 tCO₂e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent). The top three sources of community emissions are generated by grid electricity (50%), transport (30%) and waste (16%). Gas produces 3% and waste water the remaining 1%.  

While Council’s baseline 16,869 tCO₂e operational emissions contribute <1% of the community emissions, achieving net zero 20 years ahead of the community will allow us to showcase strategies and solutions that our residents can adopt.  

Electricity was the largest source of Council operational baseline emissions, that have already been mitigated through our 100% renewable electricity contract. Of Council’s remaining emissions, 55% are generated by our diesel fleet, 33% gas, 8% water, 2% other fleet and 2% refrigerants.  

The Global Covenant of Mayors is the largest international alliance of cities, local governments, and partners working towards a low emissions and climate resilient future. 

We are progressing through the City Journey framework that supports us to empower our community to take climate action.  

The community’s emissions were extracted from Resilient Sydney’s carbon emissions monitoring platform, using federal and state government emission calculating methodology.  

Resilient Sydney’s net zero pathways tool was used to model the community’s key emission reduction interventions.  

Council engaged an emissions consultant to determine our operational emissions and the interventions required to zero our emissions.  

Example of what Council is doing to achieve net zero include:  

Examples of community actions include: