Climate-resilient green cities

A 20-year vision: Our sustainable and climate-proofed cities, transport, homes and businesses run on clean, renewable energy. A circular economy has transformed our urban systems and how we use resources. Our emissions have more than halved, and we play a leadership role in the global region in the transition to a net zero economy.

We are actively and effectively managing climate vulnerability, proactive climate proofing, urban heat and planning, and designing our built environments to withstand flooding, bushfires and coastal erosion.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face. It impacts our natural environment and ecosystems, our economy, our infrastructure, and our way of life. As we plan for the future, we must ensure that we achieve sustainability for the long term, transforming to meet the challenge of realising net zero emissions, while ensuring our cities are resilient and adaptable in the face of the escalating climate change impacts we are already experiencing. 

Reducing our emissions and transforming our cities and economy as part of a net zero state will be central to our future planning. The NSW Government’s Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020-2030 creates a pathway to a low-carbon state by 2050. This will build on the integrated approaches set out in the 2018 Region Plan, increasing the sustainability of our region by expanding its green infrastructure and protecting our natural environment, which should be valued and managed for its intrinsic value and contribution to improved quality of life.

To accelerate our transition to renewable energy and a net zero emissions economy, we need to transform how we build our cities, our transport and urban systems and how we do business across our region. Improving the way we manage waste, recycle and reuse will also be integral to achieving net-zero emissions. Our future planning will be consistent with best practice planning principles including sustainable development, and particularly climate change mitigation and adaptation, and enhanced resilience. 

As we grow, we must ensure our region strengthens its resilience in the face of the increasing climate-related risks and natural hazards of drought, bushfire, floods, and extreme heat and overexposure to UV radiation that are already impacting our communities. This is embodied in the objectives and priority actions set out in the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.

Accelerating the shift to renewable energy 

Substantial growth in renewable energy and electrification of transport, homes and industry and businesses is key to the Six Cities Region becoming a net zero emissions region. Approximately 59 per cent of the region’s emissions are from electricity use. 

Emissions from transport have been increasing and will continue to rise without major intervention. Passenger transport accounted for 22.1 per cent of Greater Sydney’s emissions in 2019-20. Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 will require a major shift towards private, public and heavy electric vehicles and more trips by public transport, walking and cycling.

The Future Transport Strategy highlights how low and zero emission vehicles will be key to the transition to clean and quiet mobility. Accelerating availability and affordability of electric vehicles and charging points will be critical. Transport for NSW is transitioning the state’s bus fleet to zero-emission buses and renewable energy for electric trains and light rail. 

Transitioning to a circular economy  

Waste is a significant and increasing contributor to emissions. Moving to a circular economy will reduce emissions and improve sustainability of our cities and infrastructure. This will require major changes to waste management, recycling, and reuse across the six cities.

A circular built environment could save 3.6 million tonnes of CO₂ per year across Australia and deliver $29 billion in direct economic benefits to NSW per year by 2040.

Infrastructure and construction projects can make greater use of recycled materials, reducing waste volumes overall, as construction and demolition waste accounted for 51 per cent of all waste in NSW (by volume) in 2019-20.

Increasing the separation of household food and organic waste can generate renewable energy and reduce emissions. This may require innovative solutions in higher-density areas where fewer households have access to their own garden, including through the development of community-led ‘maker spaces’ or ‘circular economy hubs’.

The precinct planning for the Aerotropolis in the Western Parkland City already provides for the potential inclusion of a ‘circular economy hub’ as a community asset, and circular economy design will be embedded in key innovation districts.

Resilient cities 

Extreme climate events are increasingly impacting the Six Cities Region. Challenges for the region include a changing climate, growing urbanisation, and changing patterns of economic and social vulnerability. 

The 2019-2020 bushfires across eastern Australia caused loss of life, property, infrastructure and devastating impact on communities, vegetation, wildlife and ecosystems across our region. There were additional health and economic impacts from the thick smoke blanketing the region for months. 

In early 2020, major flooding impacted parts of Greater Sydney, the Central Coast City and the Illawarra-Shoalhaven City. Floods returned to parts of the region in late 2020, 2021 and in early 2022, causing more devastation, disruption and landslips. 

Heat is a major problem across the cities, with local communities experiencing excessive temperatures during heatwaves. 2019 was the driest and hottest year in more than a century. Such extreme temperatures have significant impacts on comfort, peak electricity demand, productivity and human health. 

While the region has always been exposed to, and responded to, natural hazards, we must build resilience and readiness to respond to more intense, frequent and severe impacts. Land use planning will play a key role in reflecting and responding to the escalating risks that current and future communities face. The Region Plan and City Plans will identify areas in each city that are exposed and vulnerable to various climate-related risks, reflecting and responding to the objectives and priority actions set out in the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. Improving access to information on climate-related risks will help communities, businesses and governments make better decisions on how to mitigate these impacts. 

Green infrastructure

Research supports the multiple benefits of greater investment in green infrastructure, such as the urban tree canopy, parks and waterways. Increasing green cover and retaining water in the urban landscape reduces the urban heat island effect, strengthens local resilience to climate-related risks, helps capture and store carbon emissions, reduces air pollution, improves liveability and makes our local centres and neighbourhoods more attractive. 

Even though the Six Cities Region has a variety of local green infrastructure, it still has a high level of urban heat compared to other major city regions. It is important to ensure that investment in green infrastructure is equitably distributed across the Six Cities Region so that everyone can benefit. 

Water resource management  

Recycled water, including recycled stormwater, can help mitigate urban heat in a way that is less reliant on rainfall and drinking water supplies. Currently, only seven per cent of wastewater in Greater Sydney is recycled. Making greater use of recycled water, and water conservation measures will be critical to keeping our communities cool and green. 

The NSW Water Strategy outlines how water resource management can be supported by the most contemporary data and risks to water resources. We will continue to draw on current data and modelling to improve our understanding of past and future climate risks.

Sustainable homes and buildings 

As heatwaves and extreme heat days continue to increase, we also must address what this means for our homes and the wider built environment. 

Lifting BASIX building standards will make our cities and homes more comfortable, sustainable and climate-resilient. It will result in greater energy and water efficiency, which in turn reduces emissions and lowers costs. We must also prioritise increasing electrification using renewable energy and restricting the use of gas in new developments from 2025. 

Urban heat can also be mitigated effectively by using cooler and lighter-coloured building and paving materials, ensuring street orientation responds to local climate conditions, retaining more water in the landscape and retaining more tree canopy and green ground cover. 

Our global innovation districts – Tech Central, Westmead and the Aerotropolis – will showcase leading-edge sustainable buildings as they move towards a net zero target for 2030. Their role in the global economy is outlined in greater detail in Region Shaper Five, Powering local jobs and economies.