Sydney has officially declared a climate emergency, with the city’s councillors voting that climate change poses a serious risk to Sydneysiders and all Australians.  

Lord Mayor Clover Moore asked the council to call on the federal government to respond urgently to the emergency by reintroducing a price on carbon and establishing a body to help transition workers in fossil fuel industries to alternate employment.  

“Successive federal governments have shamefully presided over a climate disaster, and now we are at a critical juncture – we face a climate emergency,” Ms Moore said. 

“Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased for four consecutive years. It is clear that the current federal government’s policies are simply not working and I call on Council to declare a climate emergency.”  

Sydney has become the latest city to declare a climate emergency, following the footsteps of more than 600 jurisdictions in 13 countries. 

The City of Sydney said it was the first council in Australia to become carbon-neutral. 

In 2007, the council introduced its long-term strategic plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030, after 97 per cent of the community said they wanted climate action.  

“We set a goal to reduce our emissions by 70 per cent by 2030, and – following the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 – we set a more ambitious goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050,” Ms Moore said. 

By next year, the City of Sydney is expected to use 100 per cent renewable energy, with an aim of meeting its 2030 target six years early in 2024. 

More than 110,000 people have signed a Change.org petition for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declare a climate emergency and act accordingly. 

Last month, a group of Australian councils, including eight in NSW, also declared a climate emergency, after a UN report warned urgent widespread action must be taken to avoid a two degrees Celsius temperature rise that would have catastrophic consequences on the planet.