The ACT Government has released its annual report outlining the territory’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2020-21 and progress towards our emission reduction targets, as the territory stays on track to become a net zero emissions city by 2045.
Minister for Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury said the independent annual report is an important tool to help monitor Canberra’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“Knowing our local carbon footprint empowers the community to find collaborative solutions and take action on climate change,” Minister Rattenbury said. “In 2020-21 the ACT emitted 1,685 kilo tonnes of carbon emissions, representing a 45% reduction from 1990 levels.
“This is a slight increase on last year’s emissions, which were particularly low for a number of reasons, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and low transport emissions during the lockdown period in 2020.
“The report shows that the overall trend of the territory’s emissions is on the right track, and the ACT remains a national leader when it comes to emissions reduction and climate action.
“The report also shows that we still have many challenges ahead as we work towards a net zero emissions future. Transport remains our largest source of emissions in the ACT (63.5%), followed by natural gas (21.6%).
“Our climate actions this year reflect our commitment to reduce emissions from these sectors, some of which include continuing to support the uptake of active travel and electric vehicles to reduce transport emissions and launching zero-interest loans for households to complete energy efficiency and gas-to-electric upgrades or purchase an electric vehicle.”
To find out what you can do to help tackle climate change in the ACT, visit the Everyday Climate Choices website. To read the 2021-22 Greenhouse Gas Inventory report, visit the Environment website
