South Australia and Adelaide have signed two international climate change agreements, the Compact of States and Regions and the Compact of Mayors, becoming the first state and city council pair to do so.
The agreement means the SA government and Adelaide City Council will report on emissions reduction progress annually at an international level.
“South Australia was the first Australian state to put in place legislation with a specific greenhouse emissions reduction target,” Premier Jay Weatherill said.
“Our target was a 60 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2050 – and the current measures show that we’ve already achieved a 10 per cent reduction in emissions compared to 1990 levels.
“We recently announced our goal of making the CBD carbon neutral and we are working with the Adelaide City Council on developing an action plan to achieve this bold target.
“We are making these commitments because they are good for our environment and the right thing to do for our economy.
“Transitioning to a low carbon economy will attract investment, drive innovation and create jobs.”
Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese said his council had reduced its emissions by 60 per cent based on 1990 levels already, and that emissions from the city had reduced 17 per cent since 2007.
“By signing up to the Compact of Mayors, Council has committed to continuing this great work, and to joining forces with other progressive global cities to share experiences and success stories that can be repeated all over the world,” he said.
“This collaborative approach between council and state government puts South Australia in a position to provide international leadership in addressing the challenges of climate change.”
The news was welcomed by the Conservation Council SA, with chief executive Craig Wilkins saying that the state had “a proud history of leadership on climate change action”.
“It is encouraging for us to remember that regional levels of government can achieve significant emission reductions when this is not happening at the national level, and we hope this collaborative approach will facilitate similar progress by other regional governments,” he said.