Federal net zero investments in Sydney target building efficiency and transport electrification

Sydney is receiving $680 million in targeted federal clean energy investment focused on reducing emissions from the built environment and transport sectors, which together account for approximately 75 per cent of the city's direct greenhouse gas emissions, as the federal government's Net Zero Economy Agency coordinates the delivery of urban climate programs across Australia's largest cities.

The building efficiency investment — $280 million channelled through the National Energy Efficiency Standards framework — is funding mandatory energy performance upgrades to commercial buildings that are renewing or refinancing, and providing low-interest loans through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation for residential building owners undertaking major renovations. The program targets a 35 per cent improvement in average commercial building energy intensity across the Sydney CBD by 2030.

Transport electrification investment of $240 million supports the expansion of the NSW government's electric bus fleet, now the largest in Australia, and the installation of EV charging infrastructure at 180 locations across the metropolitan area in the highest-demand corridors. The Commonwealth's contribution leverages NSW state investment and private sector participation to deliver a total charging network investment three times the federal contribution alone.

Clean energy industry groups welcomed the Sydney-specific investment program while noting that building codes and planning regulations — under state and local government jurisdiction — were the most powerful levers for reducing built environment emissions and needed to be tightened in coordination with the federal financial programs. The Green Building Council's Sydney chapter has been advocating for mandatory 6-star NatHERS ratings for all new residential construction in the Sydney Basin.

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