The Greens champion evidence-driven solutions to the major problems our community is now facing: a changing climate, environmental destruction and economic inequality.

UN scientists have told us we have less than 11 years to get global pollution under control or our planetary system is likely to tip over into a climate breakdown.

That’s why here in the ACT, the Greens are playing our part to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, and are delivering on a clean, green energy future.

With Greens in Government, the ACT is a global climate action leader.

We’re already on track to deliver 100% renewable electricity by 2020.

Now we’re aiming for zero net emissions by 2045 or earlier, in step with what our climate scientists tell us we need to achieve if we’re to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

We've already achieved so much. But there's still so much more to do.

That's why, at a time of climate emergency, we're ramping up our efforts even more to secure a clean, green renewable energy future for the ACT.

Click the video above to find out more about how Greens in Government are delivering global climate leadership. 

With Greens in Government, the ACT is now the first Australian state or territory government to commit to:

• Transitioning to a zero emissions bus fleet by 2040
• Phasing out gas by 2045
• Adopting a social cost of carbon for emissions 
• Meeting emission reduction targets without the purchase of offsets
• Delivering all new Government buildings as all-electric 
• Delivering all new public schools as all-electric 
• Transitioning to a zero emissions government passenger vehicle fleet
• Developing a pathway to zero emissions hospitals.

In launching the next major phase of climate action - the ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019-2025 and Living Infrastructure Plan - the Greens have also committed the Government to:

• Plant hundreds of thousands of new trees and other 'green infrastructure' as part of a new 30% tree canopy cover target to help keep our city cool  
• Deliver more battery storage for homes and small businesses
• ‘Future-proof’ our city to encourage more developers to build more all-electric and zero emissions suburbs, reducing our emissions and cutting energy bills for Canberra residents 
• Require more climate-wise buildings for the Canberra of the future, not the past 
• Prioritise investments in sustainable transport, like light rail, buses and active transport, including adopting leading infrastructure standards
• Improve energy efficiency options for Canberra homes, small businesses and schools
• Deliver new programs that will reduce energy use, cut energy bills and improve comfort for renters and home owners
• Legislate to guarantee that our 100% renewable electricity target will always be maintained, once achieved by 2020
• Divert more waste from landfill, including green bins that can take organic wast that can take organic waste from households, programs to recycle commercial organics, and new facilities to recycle organics sustainably 
• Do more for climate justice, ensuring that vulnerable and low-income Canberrans are supported in the clean energy and renewables transition.

We've committed the Government to planting hundreds of thousands of new trees and other 'green' infrastructure in Canberra.

 At a time of climate emergency, trees and 'green infrastructure' - like green roofs, green walls, and green verges - are even more important.

The climate is warming—summers are getting hotter—and heatwaves are happening more often, and are hotter, for longer.

Canberra’s urban trees are loved by the Canberra community, providing shade to keep our suburbs cool in summer and shelter for native birds and animals. 

Yet recently, street and park trees in our established suburbs have been declining by around 3,000 a year.

That’s why the Greens have delivered a Canberra first – a 30% urban tree canopy target and 30% surface permeability target for the ACT.

By introducing an urban canopy target, we’re working to secure our current tree canopy and the planting of hundreds of thousands of new trees in the years to come. These trees will provide much-needed shade and habitat for our city, while reducing the impacts of the ‘urban heat island effect’.

Our tree canopy target, together with a surface permeability target, will also mean more soft surfaces (e.g. soils, grasses, timber decking), and less hard surface areas (e.g. concrete, asphalt). As a result, rain can better infiltrate the soil and provide much-needed moisture for healthy trees and vegetation growth. Trees can then grow deeper tree roots, to make for a stronger, more resilient Canberra environment as the climate warms.

These targets will also support our waterways and improve water management - crucial steps to help our city mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

Transitioning away from gas, a polluting fossil fuel, to renewable all-electric

Natural gas is a polluting fossil fuel. Together with transport, gas will be one of the ACT’s largest sources of emissions from 2020, once the ACT achieves our target of 100% renewable electricity and our emissions from electricity are zero.

At a time of climate emergency, we need more Canberrans to make the switch from gas to clean, green renewable electricity, both to reduce our impact on our environment and to keep energy bills to a minimum.

That’s why the Greens are:

• Removing the requirement for Canberra houses to have gas connection, so that more new suburbs can go ‘all electric’
• Requiring all new Government buildings and leases to be all-electric – including all-electric schools and, eventually, a zero emissions health sector
• Developing a plan to phase out gas, achieving zero net emissions from gas use by 2045
• Expanding the Energy Efficiency Improvement Scheme (EEIS) to provide rebates to more Canberra households, including around 1 in 3 low-income households, to make a shift from gas to high efficiency energy appliances 
• Trialing innovative finance options like interest free loans for gas to electric upgrades, and deep retrofits of low-income homes by 2022
• Ensuring all new buildings will be efficient, climate-wise buildings.

Investing in local climate change solutions: introducing a 'social cost of carbon'

In an Australian first, the ACT will now recognise the ‘social cost of carbon’ – defining a monetary equivalent cost of the damage caused to our planet by carbon emissions.

This means that the ACT misses any of its targets (zero emission government by 2020, or any interim targets on the way to zero emissions by 2045), and creates more emissions than it should, it will invest the equivalent cost of these emissions into new local emission reducing initiatives: things like trees, electric buses, recycling projects, or zero emission technologies.   

This means there will be fewer incentives for polluting emissions and more funds towards real, local and community climate action projects.

Getting a better deal for renters

No-one should have to live in a rental property that’s freezing in winter and boiling in summer. Yet for many Canberra renters, dealing with an energy inefficient rental is practically the norm.

This has to change. The Greens think renters deserve a better deal. 

We think having minimum standards in place for rental properties – including around energy efficiency – can help turn a house into a home.

For almost a decade, we’ve pushed for minimum rental standards for Canberra without the support of either of the major parties. For almost a decade, these efforts have stalled. 

That’s why, from 2021, legislation will be in place to deliver staged minimum energy performance requirements for Canberra rentals. 

Landlords and real estate agents will also have to disclose the energy performance of an advertised rental as it goes to market – so that Canberra renters can find out how energy (in)efficient a potential home is, long before you sign the lease.

We’ll also be expanding the Actsmart Home Energy Program to provide free, tailored in-home energy assessments for Canberra renters – delivering more practical advice for renters to save on your energy bills and make your home more energy efficient. 

We will keep advocating for the major parties to back us in widening these reforms to include other minimum standards for rental properties (basic things, like doors that lock). 

Find out more about our renter’s rights efforts here. 

More sustainable transport in the Territory and driving the zero net emissions vehicle transition

The Greens have a vision for a world-class public transport system in the nation’s capital to create more liveable communities, improve our quality of life and reduce pollution and congestion.

 That’s why the Greens are committing the Government to:

• Transition all newly leased ACT Government passenger fleet vehicles to zero emissions vehicles from 2020–21, and zero emissions by 2040 at the latest
• Deliver ‘Car Free Days’ in Canberra, as well as possibilities for car free areas and shared zones 
• Improve active travel by improving cycle paths and the city's walkability
• Focus on building a more compact and efficient city to improve travel convenience without reliance on private vehicles.

Find out more about the Greens’ vision for sustainable transport in Canberra here. 

A climate-wise Canberra for the future, not the past 

At a time of climate emergency, we need to make climate-wise and sustainable decisions for the Canberra of the future, not the past. 

That's why the Greens are committing the Government to:

• Ensure there’s more information available for home buyers around zero emissions, climate-wise homes
• Encourage the building of more energy efficient climate-wise buildings that are better insulated and require less gas for heat and cooling throughout the year
• Ensure the ACT continues to deliver 100% renewable electricity – now, and always
• By 2021, review planning regulations to see where we can further encourage a sustainable, climate-wise built environment, including developing a Climate-wise Code
• By 2022, develop new tools for homeowners to assess the year-round thermal performance of their homes
• By 2024, trial incentives to encourage the construction of all-electric homes and businesses.

100% renewable electricity for the ACT – always. 

By 2020, the ACT will reach our target of 100% renewable electricity. 

It should stay this way, always. That's why we have now legislated to guarantee that the ACT will always use 100% renewable electricity, even in future decades, as our city grows, and we have more all-electric buildings and electric vehicles. 

Find out more about how the Greens are putting our climate first here.

Climate justice: Taking climate and fairness seriously

While no place will be immune from the impacts of climate change, across the world these impacts will not be borne equally or fairly, between rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations. 

The Greens take our climate and fairness seriously. That’s why we are contributing to climate justice by committing the Government to:

• Partner with local community organisations and working with vulnerable and disengaged groups to identify ways that we can support them in the transition to zero net emissions
• Continue to deliver the ‘solar for low income’ program, and looking at ways to provide solar options to public housing residents
• Trial innovative finance options like interest free loans for gas to electric upgrades, and deep retrofits of low-income homes by 2022
• Expand the Energy Efficiency Improvement Scheme (EEIS) to provide rebates to more Canberra households, including around 1 in 3 low-income households, to make a shift from gas to high efficiency energy appliances 
• Support community-driven solutions to climate change. This includes expanding our community grants programs, rebates and available advice, trialing new ways of working together with community groups, and engaging our leading climate scientists (i.e. ACT Climate Change Council) to further encourage community participation in our climate change efforts
• Ensure the Environment, Planning and Sustainability Development Directorate (EPSDD) work with local Aboriginal communities to integrate transitional knowledge into landscape management, in step with our ACT Greens MLAs’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
• Work with industry and workers where sectors could be affected by the transition to a zero net emissions ACT and supporting the re-training of workers where needed.

More compost, less landfill

The Greens have long pushed for more compost, and less waste to landfill in the ACT. Composting Canberra’s residential food waste would stop approximately 40,000 tonnes of food waste ending up in landfill each year.

From April this year, more green bins have been rolling out across Canberra suburbs.

In June, a Greens motion in in the Assembly committed the Government to introducing a food and garden waste collection for all households, including multi-unit developments, to begin in 2023 at the latest. 

An education program will also be rolled out from 2020 to support these efforts, to ensure that less food ends up in landfill. 

Now, the Government will also start exploring commercial organics recycling, and locations for sustainable organics recycling facilities, such as composting and anaerobic digestion.  

This is a great win for Canberra. But we still have more to do to realise more ‘compost not landfill’ in the ACT. 

To find out more, visit www.compostnotlandfill.org.