Council leading on carbon abatement

Blue Mountains City Council has seen a 15% reduction in emissions since 2015/2016, based on emissions performance in the 2018/2019 financial year.

As one of a handful of Councils in NSW to declare a climate emergency, Council’s Carbon Abatement Action Plan (CAAP) – adopted in 2016 – has become the backbone of the City’s carbon reduction strategies. 

The Plan, which aims to achieve long-term, continual carbon emission reduction, sets out goals and benchmarks to which emissions improvements are compared.

A reduction target of 20% was set for 2022, however, an ambitious ‘stretch target’ of a 30% reduction has since been adopted along with a commitment to be a net zero emissions organisation by 2025. The current rate of emissions reduction sits at 15%.

Mayor Mark Greenhill explained that the Plan will make Council a leader in the field of carbon abatement.

“As the City within a World Heritage-listed National Park, we’re seeing up close what is happening in our environment. We’re surrounded by nature – not concrete – and we know how important it is to take steps to protect it, and we are doing that,” he said. 

“We’ve set ourselves ambitious targets, and not only are we meeting them, we’re exceeding a number of them with flying colours. 

“I encourage the community to look at where they can take action – this is about all of us, and about the future of the Blue Mountains.”

Blue Mountains City Council CEO Dr Rosemary Dillon said: “This will contribute to the achievement of a more sustainable Blue Mountains.”

Current Council works includes installation roof top solar panels across a number of Council facilities and converting almost 3,000 streetlights to LEDs. Each new bulb achieves a 79% energy reduction, resulting in a 645 tonne reduction of Council’s CO2e emissions per year – equivalent to taking nearly 100 homes off the grid, or over 250 cars off the road each year.

To find out more visit Council's action on climate change webpage.