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Climate change in the Australian Capital Territory

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Climate change in the Australian Capital Territory affects various environments and industries.

Greenhouse gas emissions

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The territory's emissions amounted to 1.42 million tonnes in 2005 compared to 1.28 million tonnes in 2022.[1]

Impacts of climate change

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Weather extremes

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Climate change is expected to increase the rate at which bushfires, heatwaves and hail occur in the territory.[2]

Response

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Policies

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The ACT government installed solar panels at thousands of social housing properties.[3] In 2024, the Labor Party, the Greens and the Liberals all committed to expanding public transport in Canberra.[4] Transpot Canberra implemented an integrated ticketing system.[5]

Legislation

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Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010

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Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010
Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
  • An Act to promote the development of policies and practices to address climate change, to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to provide for monitoring and reporting in relation to the targets
CitationA2010-41
Assented to2010-11-04
Legislative history
Bill titleClimate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Bill 2010
Keywords
emissions targets
Status: In force

The Climate Change (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets) Bill was the first and so far only climate legislative initiative presented by a Liberal Party at the state, territory or federal level.[6] A stronger version of the bill became a part of the coalition deal between the Labor Party and the ACT Greens.[6]

The Act sets targets for emissions reductions compared to 1990 levels as:[6]

  • 40% by 2020
  • 80% by 2050

The Act required that per capita emissions must have peaked by 30 June 2013.[6]

Under the Act, the ACT Government set an emissions reduction target of 50-60% from 1990 levels by 2025 compared to 1990, as part of its Climate Change Strategy 2019-2025 document.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shine, Rhiannon (2024-04-24). "WA's greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb above 2005 levels despite net zero pledge". ABC. Archived from the original on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  2. ^ "Why is Canberra such a cold city?". ABC News. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  3. ^ Pearce, Connor (2025-03-02). "Big boost worth millions for batteries, solar on ACT-owned properties". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 2025-03-10. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  4. ^ "If York catches a bus to work, it takes more than an hour. It takes just 25 minutes for him to drive". ABC News. 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  5. ^ "Smart ticketing system MyWay+ coming to ACT". Canberra Daily. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  6. ^ a b c d Christoff, Peter; Eckersley, Robyn (2021-10-21). "Convergent evolution: framework climate legislation in Australia". Climate Policy. 21 (9): 1190–1204. doi:10.1080/14693062.2021.1979927. ISSN 1469-3062.
  7. ^ Goodwin, Kylie; Allen, Cameron; Teh, Soo Huey; Li, Mengyu; Fry, Jacob; Lenzen, Manfred; Farrelly, Serena; Leon, Constanza; Lewis, Sophie; Chen, Guangwu; Schandl, Heinz; Wiedmann, Thomas (2023-06-01). "Targeting 1.5 degrees with the global carbon footprint of the Australian Capital Territory". Environmental Science & Policy. 144: 137–150. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2023.03.006. ISSN 1462-9011.
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