It looks like ACT Minister for Transport Chris Steel will need more electric buses by the end of the year. Photo: ACT Government.
With the Federal Government being warned it’s “on a path to comprehensive failure” when it comes to meeting its emissions targets, the ACT Government is confident it will be able to meet its targets by the end of the year.
But there is still some work to go.
Speaking at the Australian Clean Energy Summit in Sydney earlier this week, economist Professor Ross Garnaut said the Albanese government was pushing the right agenda with its focus on renewable energy and CO2 emissions reduction, but added the “Herculean efforts” won’t be enough.
“We are, for the time being, on a path to comprehensive failure,” he said.
The Federal Government is on a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Meanwhile, the ACT Government has committed to net zero emissions from all its operations by 2040, with an interim target of a 33 per cent reduction by the end of 2025.
In a statement to Region, the local government said final data on 2025 won’t be available until the first quarter of 2026, but by the end of the 2023/24 financial year, “ACT Government operational emissions showed a reduction of around 5 per cent from the 2019 baseline”.
It attributed this to the roll-out of measures in its ‘Integrated Energy Plan’, released last year.
This initiative begins with transitioning the Transport Canberra bus fleet to electric power, which will serve as the “primary source of government operational emissions”.
So far, the first 60-odd of an initial order of 106 electric buses are on the road, and ACT Labor has committed to purchase another 110 and have one-third of the fleet electric “by 2040 or earlier”.
The ACT Government has been steadily moving all its facilities off gas. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Despite the issues plaguing its two electric fire trucks, the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) also claims it has reduced its CO2 emissions by 26.39 per cent since 2019.
The ESA’s breathing-apparatus (BA) support Volvo truck is back from repairs in Brisbane but is yet to enter service, while the plug-in-hybrid Rosenbauer pumper truck is offline for the second time this year “due to a mechanical issue involving its battery packs”.
When these arrived in 2023, it was hoped they would be the first of a fully electric emergency vehicle fleet and help reduce the ESA’s emissions by 100 per cent by 2045.
Now, however, the agency is holding back on announcing any new models, saying instead it “remains committed to learning from this experience”.
“The ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) is proud to have led the nation as the first jurisdiction in Australia to commence the transition to electric emergency vehicles,” a spokesperson told Region.
Over the past few years, the government has also been replacing all of its fleet vehicles with EVs or hybrids when they reach the end of their leases, and moving all of its facilities off gas systems.
There’s also a dedicated Zero Emissions Government Loan Fund that supports projects that reduce ACT Government greenhouse gas emissions, including installing solar panels, batteries and other energy efficiency upgrades.
A new ‘Climate Change Strategy’, currently in progress, is said to take things further to “further strengthen the ACT’s climate resilience”.
Over the next two years, the government says it will continue to pass regulations to prevent new gas connections in “all residential, commercial and community-facility land-use zones”, while attempting to build more of a local circular economy and make active travel options like walking or cycling more attractive.
Another 40 EV chargers will be rolled out across Canberra in the coming years. Photo: James Coleman.
Earlier this year, it hit its target of 180 public EV charging stations by 2025, with a further $890,000 recently allocated to install another 40 new chargers across Canberra.
The government says its Sustainable Household Scheme (SHS) and Home Energy Support Program (HESP) will also continue for the foreseeable future, but where the SHS once offered zero-interest loans of up to $15,000, a 3 per cent rate now applies and solar panels are no longer eligible.
The ACT’s overall emissions peaked in 2015-16, but have dropped significantly since the territory switched to 100 per cent renewable electricity in 2020.
In 2023-24, emissions were down to 3.1 tonnes of CO2 per person – about half of what they were in 1990.
