Byron shire says it aims to be a ‘zero emissions community’ within 10 years by upgrading public transport, improving agriculture and retrofitting buildings

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Byron Bay has become the first place in Australia outside the major cities to commit to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions to zero over the next 10 years.



Byron shire, which encompasses Byron Bay and parts of the New South Wales north coast hinterland, said it aimed to be a “zero emissions community” by 2025 by cutting greenhouse gases in a range of areas.



The plan will involve boosting renewable energy uptake, retrofitting existing buildings, creating new public transport options and electric vehicle opportunities, changing land use practices and improving the management of waste and water.



The council will be the first to use research conducted by Beyond Zero Emissions on how to take Australia’s economy into “negative emissions” and help global efforts to avert the prospect of dangerous climate change.



Beyond Zero Emissions said it was in conversation with a number of other councils to implement similar emissions-cutting strategies.



The City of Sydney and the City of Melbourne both have policies to be “carbon neutral”, while the South Australian government announced a similar plan for Adelaide last month.



Simon Richardson, mayor of Byron Shire, said the region was already making efforts to cut emissions through its strong take-up of rooftop solar and its launch of a community-owned clean energy generator and retailer last year.



“Byron is a logical fit for this because we are well on the path with renewable energy – you don’t need to twist many arms in Byron,” Richardson told Guardian Australia.



“Beyond Zero Emissions have put together a roadmap and we’ve taken up the mantle. It’s a whole-of-community approach, with renewable energy, agriculture and buildings.”

Richardson said the details of any incentives or penalties to push down emissions still needed to be finalised, but that he was confident Byron could get state or federal funding where needed.

“Transport is probably the biggest challenge as public transport around here is pretty poor but we’ve got a rail corridor that’s underutilised,” he said.

“We’ve had indications from the state government that they want to explore this space. There’s an economic argument too, not just a feel-good environmental outcome. We can save money from polluting industries, there are clear economic benefits.”

Beyond Zero Emissions has developed research on removing emissions from waste, energy, transport and land use with the help of the University of Queensland and the University of Melbourne.

Steve Bygrave, chief executive of the non-government organisation, said there’s a “very holistic” approach councils can take to lower emissions.

“We’ve shown that every existing building in Australia can be retrofitted to become zero emissions,” he said. “Better public transport and electric vehicles won’t happen overnight, but we want to roll this out to every community in Australia.

“There is a lot of frustration with the national government, as shown by the lack of vision in the intergenerational report when it came to climate change. People on the ground just want to get on with it, regardless of the lack of progress nationally, and councils are well placed to do that.

“The required scale of action needed on climate change is unparalleled. But when you look at large changes in the past, it always comes from the bottom up. Political leaders have to respond to action on the ground.”

Bygrave said he had spoken to councils in Victoria and NSW and would be targeting Queensland’s Sunshine Coast next to get further commitments to slash emissions to zero.