$3.6 million to turn Adelaide carbon neutral

The South Australian Government has promised to spend $3.6 million to help Adelaide become the world’s first carbon-neutral city, saying the commitment will boost the local economy.

The funding is intended to enable governments, businesses, property owners and residents to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make Adelaide a world leader. Opportunities to reduce the city’s carbon footprint could include improving energy efficiency, greening the city’s electricity grid, providing better public transport and promoting cycling.

Aboriginal-owned business AllGrid Energy was the first recipient of the government’s Sustainable Cities Incentive Scheme, which gave up to a $5000 rebate to Adelaide City Council residents for the purchase of solar. AllGrid spokesperson Deborah Oberon said her company was “thrilled” with the news, noting, “Schemes such as this one make it so much more affordable for people to invest in storage and solar.”

Other upcoming initiatives include:

• seed funding for community activity to build green infrastructure, reduce and recover community waste and promote shared transport;
• a government partnership with Adelaide City Council to secure private investment in renewable energy and storage, building energy efficiency and electric vehicles infrastructure.

Jenny Paradiso, managing director of solar company Suntrix, said it was positive to see “local and state government coming on board and working together with the community and with local businesses such as Suntrix”.

“The announcement also gives us confidence as a business and more opportunities to grow, innovate and hire people,” she said.

Oberon added that “governments should be doing everything they can to support the transition to renewables”, noting that it would “be great to see other states following this lead”.

“A commitment to sustainability and the renewables industry leads to jobs creation and economic growth — let alone the environmental benefits,” she said.