If Adelaide is going to host COP31, we need more climate action
Hosting COP31 will put Adelaide under the climate action microscope and will be a rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the global climate conversation and accelerate action to protect our own future, writes Committee for Adelaide chief executive Sam Dighton.
The devastating algal bloom that is currently ravaging South Australia’s coastline is a stark reminder that the climate crisis is well and truly upon us.
We are experiencing warmer and drier conditions, more frequent extreme weather events, heightened bushfire risks and rising sea levels. Summers are harsher, rainfall is scarcer, and coastal communities are currently dealing with a toxic algae bloom that is decimating our local marine wildlife and closing beaches.
These are no longer theoretical risks and projections for 2050. They’re local, immediate and intensifying realities of climate change occurring right here, right now.
Human influence on the climate system is well documented and understood. Information on the latest climate change science is readily available on government websites and through organisations such as the CSIRO and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The facts are clear: every degree of warming brings social, environmental, and economic consequences that grow larger and harder to reverse.
South Australia is often regarded as a global leader when it comes to climate change action. With over 1,000 native plant species and an urban area where 11 per cent is green space, we’re fortunate to live in a city where nature is a core part of urban life. In fact, our city ranks in the global top 5 per cent for low susceptibility to natural disasters. We sit behind only Auckland in climate resilience and outshine cities like Bordeaux and Austin. That’s not luck—it’s a combination of our enviable climate, high biodiversity, and decades of planning.
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With a strong focus on climate action across successive government cycles, the state has reduced its emissions by 57 per cent from 2005 levels and has set a clear target of at least 60 per cent net emissions reduction by 2030 on the path to achieving net zero by 2050.
We have also made world-leading strides in the integration of renewable energy. In just over a decade, South Australia’s energy mix has gone from 30 per cent to more than 70 per cent renewable energy, with an aspiration to be 100 per cent net renewables by 2027. That’s a remarkable feat that is rightly being applauded around the world.
There has also been a concerted focus across government and industry to become a leader in green iron and steel production, strategies in place to support the circular economy, and plans for a greener public transport system. Our universities are in the top 20 per cent globally for sustainability commitments. We have one of the highest densities of certified B Corporations anywhere in the world – more than Boston on a per capita basis. And we’ve made major inroads on zero-waste, tree canopy growth, and sustainable water management.
But this progress masks some gaps in our state’s climate action and preparedness.
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The Committee for Adelaide’s 2025 Benchmarking Adelaide Report, compiled by The Business of Cities, reveals that Adelaide still emits more greenhouse gases per person than nearly all of our peer cities, trailing behind places like Auckland and Bordeaux.
While we lead in rooftop solar, our green building certificates are nearly bottom of the barrel among 19 other international cities. And we’re lagging when it comes to electrifying transport. Our electric vehicle uptake is sluggish at 6.5 per cent, well behind leaders like Portland which has an EV sales share of 18.7 per cent, and our EV charging infrastructure is nowhere near where it needs to be. Access in outer suburbs is half that of the city centre, and dramatically below global averages.
The stark reality is that more needs to be done, quickly.
Every year that we delay action brings steeper costs: rising insurance premiums, damaged infrastructure, mounting health risks and fragile ecosystems. These impacts compound, and they hit the most vulnerable first and hardest. There’s no shortcut. No quick fix. The longer we wait, the more we pay, economically, environmentally, and socially.
The Committee for Adelaide, along with leading corporates, universities and the South Australian Government is driving the conversation in leading the SA ZERO cluster, but if Adelaide is serious about being a future-focused climate leader, climate action, resilience and preparedness needs to be front and centre. We need to start viewing climate action not as a handbrake but an economic strategy and launchpad – for jobs, investment and global attention.
Hosting COP31 could catalyse the investments and political will needed to make a difference and curtail some of the serious climate risks we are already seeing unfold.
If we are successful in the bid to host the 31st session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, over 30,000 delegates, world leaders and dignitaries will be on our doorstep, delivering significant economic and diplomatic benefits and an estimated $500 million boost to the local economy.
It won’t just be another conference in Adelaide’s already impressive events calendar. It will put Adelaide under the climate action microscope and will be a rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the global climate conversation and accelerate action to protect our own future.
We’ve already shown that mid-sized cities can lead in renewables, biodiversity, and innovation. But addressing climate change and delivering COP31 requires decisive action, momentum and strong leadership across government, industry and the community.
Adelaide has the talent, motivation and natural capital. We now need to make it happen.
