Welcome to the Sydney Town Hall for this important summit.
I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land, and pay my respects to Elders past and present. I also acknowledge the people of the very many nations who live in our city.
Tipping point
The energy transition is not just about technology, finance and engineering, it is also about hearts and minds.
Especially now, because we are at a tipping point – a political tipping point. Internationally the rise of the Ultra-Right is putting the brakes on climate action.
And with a Federal election shortly, Australians are being asked to choose between renewable energy – like wind and solar – and 7 taxpayer-funded nuclear reactors.
How do we convince the public to stay the course with renewables when we live in an age of mis- and dis-information, where wars are fought over what is fact and what is fiction.
Fossil fuel industries and their lobbyists are saying and doing anything to protect their interests. Unable to deny climate change any longer, fossil fuel interests have thrown their weight behind nuclear reactors. This is a new tactic to obstruct and slow down the transition away from coal, oil and gas; and it gives the billionaires’ club profits for another couple of decades.
It’s a serious, coordinated and well-resourced attack. And we just don’t have time for it.
As Matt Kean, the head of Australia’s Climate Change Authority rightly said: ‘let’s not be distracted by unicorns’.
Our climate is already hotter, we’re experiencing more intense storms, bushfires and floods causing untold damage to nature, and to homes, businesses and public infrastructure. Property in some parts of our country is uninsurable.
The public’s perception will determine how, and how fast, we decarbonise the planet.
City solutions
And perceptions change. While the Daily Telegraph still hates cycleways – 20 years ago when we opened one of our first cycleways in Bourke Street Surry Hills, its outrage on behalf of car lovers was over the top,– now most people see their value.
And we have 25 kilometres of safe, separated cycleways across the City with more to come; and over 10,000 people ride to work in the city centre – the equivalent of 10 full trains or 166 full buses. This clean and efficient transport option is reducing emissions, and improving air quality as well as people’s health. Across Greater Sydney, other councils are also building cycleways.
The City has long been a leader in climate actions. Our target of net zero emissions across the City’s local government area by 2035 is way ahead of both the State and Federal governments targets.
To make sure we get there, we are leading by example by drastically reducing energy and water use, and eliminating our use of gas in Council facilities by 2030. We’re finding better ways of managing our assets so they are even more efficient and resilient. And we’re focusing on embodied carbon and the circular economy.
In an Australian first, we changed our planning rules to introduce net zero standards for new buildings. Now developers must improve the energy efficiency of their new office, hotel and retail developments, and achieve net zero energy from 2026. Already, developers are submitting proposals with net zero energy. And the work has paved the way for a similar statewide policy.
We have successful long-term partnerships with building owners and tenants in the CBD resulting in massive reductions in emissions and water use, and cost savings.
We are also working with home owners and advocating for tenants to make their homes more efficient, more comfortable in extreme heat and cold, and cheaper to run.
And we are restoring our natural environment, creating new parks and planting 700 trees a year to mitigate urban heat and keep our City cooler, to protect biodiversity, and to create beautiful spaces where people can gather.
The City is one of only a few councils in Australia that has consistently increased canopy cover over the past decade.
We even planted a micro forest between two office towers in the CBD at Barlow Street. This unique and beautiful forest is made up of 30 species belonging to the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub and Coastal Swamp Forests that once covered parts of the city.
Integrating First Nations perspectives
First Nations people have 65,000 years’ experience in Caring for Country that we can learn from. We are integrating First Nations perspectives into the City’s environmental management in many ways including by incorporating advice from a First Nations ecologist in the development of our Street Tree Master Plan, engaging First Nations design consultants to advise on park upgrades, and engaging Indigenous enterprise Wildflower Gardens for Good to establish a bush restoration site at Beaconsfield.
We have also purchased carbon offsets for our own operations from Aboriginal-owned offset providers. The offsets were generated through the use of traditional fire management techniques in the Northern Territory.
Energy transformation
Australia has a wealth of wind, solar and tidal resources, and a large land mass.
The shift to renewable energy is happening much faster than anyone imagined and the costs of renewable energy continue to fall. It is a transformation of hearts and minds.
According to the Smart Energy Council, investment in renewables in Australia is the strongest it has been in years and renewable energy currently makes up 40% of the nation’s energy mix – more than double what it was just 6 years ago.
The City’s green economy is robust and fast growing, jobs in the industry continue to grow.
City-based clean tech start-ups received over $1 billion in funding in the 3 years to 2024. Up from $20 million in the 3 years prior.
And Sydney is now ranked in the world’s top 10 sustainable cities, and number 1 in Australia, which is a drawcard for international conferences, conventions and other business events, as well as tourists.
In Sydney we have world-renowned financial, educational and research institutions; there is great support among businesses, organisations, communities and individuals for climate actions.
Conclusion
Climate Action Week Sydney and the Impact X Summit is very welcome here.
We want to see more commercialisation of technology and innovation to mitigate climate change, we want to see them scaled up through collaboration and investment, and we want to connect our successful innovations to cities around the world.
The people in this room can make it happen.
The more we exchange information, knowledge, and experiences at events such as this, the greater our ability will be to influence hearts and minds, to quickly achieve net zero emissions and to save the planet.
There is nothing more important.
