The Conservation Council of the ACT Region is warning against ACT Government complacency on climate action following today’s release of the new ACT Climate Change Strategy 2026-2035. The Strategy includes Action Plan 1 to guide the Government’s short term actions.
“Canberrans are proud of our city’s history of action on climate change and our position as a global leader in reducing emissions,” said Executive Director Dr Simon Copland.
“We welcome the Government’s long-term ambition to become a climate positive city — that is exactly the kind of bold vision Canberrans expect. But ambition without action is just words, and right now the actions in the first Action Plan don’t match the scale of that vision.”
“Once again, we have been presented with a document full of vague statements and few concrete investments that will directly deliver further reductions in emissions in the ACT over the next 10 years.”
“There are simply not enough tangible actions in the first Action Plan to give us confidence that we will meet our emissions reduction targets or effectively adapt to a changing climate.”
“The Action Plan includes so-called new ‘actions’ to ‘Investigate additional options to reduce urban heat’ and to ‘Investigate how to encourage mode shift to public transport and active travel.’ These are deliberately vague promises,” Copland continued.
“Our submission on the Climate Change Strategy Discussion Paper was clear. The Canberra community expects the Government to outline tangible, measurable actions supported by a significant uplift in funding.”
“After years of strategies on issues ranging from climate change to active travel, the community has strategy fatigue. We want fewer frameworks and strategies and more direct action to reduce our emissions and adapt to climate change.”
The Council does, however, welcome certain elements of the new Strategy. Its Overarching Framework embeds the core principles of equity and resilience — an approach the Council has long championed.
“There are some genuine improvements in this Strategy, including a focus on supporting vulnerable groups at risk of being left behind in the net zero transition, and the incorporation of climate resilience as a core principle,” said Copland.
“We also welcome Minister Orr’s announcement of the new Sustainable Apartments Program, which we know is a challenging area for electrification given the complexity of some strata arrangements. We look forward to seeing further details of this program.”