CLIMATE AMBITION NOW!

SIGN THE PETITION

The ACT used to be a world leader in climate action, but in recent years the ACT Labor Government has become complacent on climate. They brought no new climate policies to the 2024 election, have announced we are not on track to reach our emissions reduction targets, and have delayed the development of the ACT’s 2026-2030 Climate Strategy.

Sign the petition: Climate Ambition Now!

To the Minister for the Environment and Climate, and the Chief Minister,

This petition draws to your attention that:

  • in May 2019, the ACT Legislative Assembly joined jurisdictions around the world in declaring a climate emergency;
  • Canberrans consistently rank climate change as a major issue of concern, with the Government’s reporting showing the large majority of Canberrans want the ACT Government to take climate action;
  • The ACT is losing its status as a world or even national leader on climate action, as policy development and implementation iags;
  • the ACT’s 2019-2025 Climate Strategy will expire before a new strategy has even been drafted.

Your petitioners therefore request the Government adopt an ambitious and evidence-based new climate change strategy. This strategy should reinstate the ACT as a national and global climate leader, and include, but not be limited to:  

  1. bringing forward Canberra’s commitment to net zero emissions by five years to 2040; 
  2. reducing emissions by speeding up the phase out of fossil fuel infrastructure and significantly increasing investment in public and active transport, all while ensuring we don’t leave vulnerable Canberrans behind;
  3. adapting to the impacts of climate change by improving the design of our urban areas, increasing our urban forest, and ensuring we are prepared for extreme weather events;
  4. other policy measures as outlined in the Conservation Council ACT Region climate policy.
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Current number of signatures: 211

What would you like to see in the ACT's 2026-2035 Climate Strategy?

We’re seeking community feedback on the ACT’s next climate change strategy so we can incorporate this into our climate advocacy and to start preparing the community for the Government’s own consultation next year.

Responses can be anonymous or attributable and will take roughly 5 minutes.
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Canberrans want climate ambition, not cowardice, from our Government, so we can safeguard our future and once again lead the world in effectively and fairly addressing climate change.

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Why climate ambition? Why now?

We’re in a climate crisis…

No corner of the globe is immune from the devastating consequences of climate change.

Rising temperatures are fueling environmental degradation, natural disasters, weather extremes, food and water insecurity, economic disruption, forced migration, conflict, and terrorism.

Sea levels are rising, the polar icecaps are melting, coral reefs are dying, oceans are acidifying, forests are burning and species are going extinct across the globe.

Smoke from the 2020 black summer bushfires blanketed Canberra for weeks, resulting in the worst air quality in the world.

An extreme hail storm swept through Canberra in January 2020, damaging thousands of properties and tens of thousands of cars.

View from Fadden, ACT of the Namadgi bushifre, one of many across Australia in the 2019/20 black summer.

Flash floods in 2018 caused widespread property damage, particularly in Canberra’s north.

Canberra’s “climate stripes”

But we can stop further climate change…

Governments at all levels can enact policies which reduce and draw down greenhouse gas emissions to re-stabilise our climate system.

At the local government level that looks like:

 

  • transitioning the energy grid to 100% renewable energy (done!)
  • phasing out gas and wood heaters
  • facilitating 100% electric and active travel
  • setting up a truly circular local economy

The ACT Government has am Urban Forest Strategy to grow and maintain Canberra’s tree cover.

Micro forests are cropping across Canberra thanks to community initiatives.

The ACT Government has recently walked back on its commitment to renaturalise Sullivan’s Creek.

The ACT Government is looking to incorporate Indigenous led cultural burns into their fire management practices.

Caring for the health of our waterways is vital for having publicly accessible swimming spots during the summer.

…and the ACT is feeling the impacts

Climate change is already having a significant impact on the ACT, with clear evidence of a warming climate and increased occurrence of hot days (SOE, 2023). For example, climate change was a significant factor in the severity of the 2020 bushfires.

Although recent years have been cooler and wetter, projections suggest a worsening climate with hotter temperatures, decreased rainfall, more frequent and severe storms, and an increase in severe fire weather. 

In 2014, the largest solar farm in Australia at the time opened south of Canberra.

The ACT Government’s initial progress on phasing out gas in the Territory has slowed.

The ACT Government needs to facilitate 100% electric and active travel to reduce significant emissions from transport.

Woodheaters not only release greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, they are also bad for public health.

Scope 3 emissions are the hardest but most important for us to tackle.

…and adapt to the changes that we’re already facing

Governments at all levels can take action to protect their citizens from a hotter, more volatile climate. At the local government level this looks like (among many other strategies):

 

  • increasing plant and tree cover to reduce the urban heat island effect and flash flooding risk
  • fine tuning emergency response plans
  • evidence-based bushfire hazard reduction
  • ensuring climate resilience in building and rental property standards

    But only if we act with ambition and if we act now

    While we may have the solutions to climate change, we do not have the time to delay in enacting them.

    The sooner we take bold action on mitigating and adapting to climate change, the easier it will be to do so and the better off our society will become.

    The world needs leadership on climate change.

    It’s time for the ACT to step up and once again be that leader.

    That’s why we’re demanding climate ambition now!