News

Sustainable Sydney 2030: One Year On

12 August 2009

While leading the Lord Mayors of Australia's capital cities to meet the Prime Minister about national emission targets, Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said the City of Sydney has begun a range of environmental projects to achieve ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.

“Global warming is the critical issue of our time and the City of Sydney is setting ambitious targets, reducing our own emissions and helping our residents, businesses and visitors to reduce theirs.

“Cities have a crucial role in reducing CO2 as they cover only 2% of the Earth’s land mass, but have over 50% of the population and produce 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions. National governments must work with city leaders to set and achieve meaningful targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avert catastrophic climate change.

“Just 12 months into implementing the long term Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan, we are delivering significant environmental projects for the City,” Ms Moore said. “The City has a goal of achieving a 70 per cent reduction in green house gas emissions by 2030. This will only be achieved with hard work - that’s why we are forging ahead with a number of projects.”

Projects underway include:

• Improving energy efficiency in the City’s libraries, pools, parks and community centres. This has already reduced energy use by 6% overall, with Town Hall House showing improvement of approximately 30 per cent. Independent expert reviews confirm that we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our property portfolio by 48% by 2012.
• Installing photovoltaic cells on Town Hall roof to convert sunlight into electricity.
• Developing plans for ‘Green Transformers’ - a network of more sustainable decentralised power generation for inner Sydney.
• Conducting a low energy street lighting trial in conjunction with Energy Australia. The City owns and maintains about 40 per cent of street lights across the LGA. The total number of streetlights account for 28 per cent of our total greenhouse pollution. If the trial is successful, low energy lights could reduce energy consumption by up to 50 per cent.
• Sending half of our domestic waste to Jacks Gully Waste Treatment facility which will help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. We aim to lift our current resource recovery rate from 32 per cent to 57 per cent in 2010.
• Exploring a potential for new waste treatment facility to divert even more waste from landfill and possibly generate renewable fuels.
• Investing $70 million over four years to build an effective, safe 200km cycling network across the LGA. King Street cycleway is now open and work has begun on Bourke Street. Consultation on a two-way separated cycleway along Kent Street has been completed and plans have been approved for the Union St and Missenden Road separated cycleways.
• Opening the new Surry Hills Library and Community Centre, an exemplar of sustainable design.
• Upgrading fleet cars to Toyota hybrid Prius’ and purchasing one of Australia’s first hybrid trucks.
• Planting more than 5000 new street trees; an additional 85,000 square metres of green public space, and numerous park renewal projects have been completed or are underway.
• Restoring Paddington Reservoir Gardens and shortly opening the City’s newest park at the former Water police site.
• Partnering with major property owners as part of the City’s national program ‘City Switch’ to improve the environmental performance of their buildings.
• Working with more than150 small businesses in the LGA to help them reduce energy, water, and waste – reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting associated costs.
• Helping residents live green through a number of programs; sustainable living seminars; greening apartment building forums; home energy consumption trials;

Power-Mates available for loan at City libraries; e-waste and chemical cleanout collections; and a new recycling service for residents living in houses aimed at making recycling easier.

The City has made progress, not only against environmental targets, but in a range of other areas, including cultural and economic development:

• Enlivening laneways and undiscovered spaces with six new small bars and 13 applications in the process, and ‘By George!’ laneway art program.
• Engaging Jan Gehl to continue his work in revitalising the City Centre.
• Achieving design excellence through the City’s Design Advisory Panel, chaired by architect Ken Maher, assessing more than 80 private sector buildings and 50 Council projects to date.

“Sustainable Sydney 2030 forms a part of every thing we do – it sets the foundation for every action, policy, plan and decision, and shapes our future.

“A major objective of our 20 year plan is to position Sydney as one of the leading green cities in the race to address global warming and to become a city with strong green credentials to attract future business and investment,” Ms Moore said.

Media contact: Jeff Lewis 0401 994 008

For more City of Sydney media releases go to www.sydneymedia.com.au.

Source: City of Sydney