What the ACT Government is doing

We’re taking actions to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. The ACT is a global leader in reducing emissions, having already reached a target for 100% renewable electricity in the ACT. Our government operations are cutting emissions.

What we are doing

We're a global leader in climate action. You can see this strong commitment to addressing climate change through our policy and the data behind it:

We made a climate emergency declaration in May 2019. This acknowledges the need for urgent action across all levels of government.

We work with many national and international partners and the community.

Energy from renewable sources

Since 2020, 100% of electricity in the ACT has come from renewable sources. The ACT will maintain this from now on.

The other major source of energy in the ACT is fossil fuel gas which makes up over 22% of the ACT’s emissions. We aim to complete a transition away from gas by 2045.

Find out more about our commitment to clean energy.

Find out more about switching from gas.

Find out more about Our Pathway to Electrification.

Leading the way

To lead our community, we're aiming for net zero emissions from ACT Government operations by 2040. The Zero Emissions Government Framework sets actions such as:

  • making government buildings and facilities all-electric and climate-wise
  • transitioning our car and bus fleets to zero emissions vehicles
  • co-locating government staff in centralised offices and supporting flexible work arrangements.

Interest free loans are available to government agencies through the Zero Emissions Government Fund, which are paid back through energy savings at no net cost to agencies.

Find out more about how the ACT Government is working towards net zero emissions.

Reporting Government emissions

Each year, we record and report on the government’s emissions against 5-year targets.

Since the ACT moved to 100% renewable electricity, we’ve seen a 40% decrease in emission levels across our operations.

Bar chart titled 'Emissions from ACT Government operations' showing emissions in tCO2e from financial years 2016-17 to 2022-23. The chart has two categories: 'Transport fuels, natural gas & refrigerants' (in dark purple) and 'Electricity' (in light purple). Emissions decrease significantly from 2016-17 to 2018-19 and stabilise from 2019-20 to 2022-23. Total emissions drop from about 180,000 tCO2e in 2016-17 to about 60,000 tCO2e from 2019-20 onwards, with 'Electricity' emissions ceasing from 2019-20.
Figure.1 - Yearly totals of the ACT Government’s greenhouse gas emissions from Government operations. The graph provides totals for Scope 1 (transport fuels, natural gas and refrigerants) and Scope 2 (electricity) emissions for each financial year from 2016-17 to 2022-23. The values are expressed as tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.
Table 1: Government emissions from FY 2016-17 to 2022-23
Data source: ACT Government Enterprise Sustainability Platform (extracted 11/06/2024).

2016-172017-182018-192019-202020-212021-222022-23
Transport fuels, natural gas and refrigerants (tCO2e) 63,481 66,151 66,507 65,266 70,854 67,017 69,271
Electricity (tCO2e) 111,388 80,189 40,058 0 0 0 0


Find more details in the Minister’s Annual Reports under the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010.

Information on how emissions reductions are tracking for all of the ACT can be found in our yearly Inventory Reports.

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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.