Editing Sydney (section)

==Environmental issues and pollution reduction==
{{Main|Environmental issues in Australia}}
{{Further|Climate change in Australia|Renewable energy in Australia}}

===Air quality===
[[File:Sydney_bushfire_smoke_on_George_St_(49197319478).jpg|thumb|[[George Street, Sydney|George Street]] and bushfire smoke in December 2019]]
As [[Climate change in Australia|climate change]], [[Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia|greenhouse gas emissions]] and pollution have become a major issue for Australia, Sydney has in the past been criticised for its lack of focus on reducing pollution and emissions and maintaining [[water quality]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/look-whos-polluting-sydney-waters-shame-20111022-1mdjr.html |title=Look who's polluting: Sydney Water's shame |date=23 October 2011 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> The release of the Metropolitan Air Quality Scheme (MAQS) led to a broader understanding of the causation of pollution in Sydney, allowing the government to form appropriate responses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/5CBB690F207683B5CA256ECF000843DE/$File/11-98.pdf |title=Air Pollution in Sydney: An Update Briefing Paper |date=August 1998 |access-date=3 February 2015 |archive-date=23 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623064945/http://parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/5CBB690F207683B5CA256ECF000843DE/$File/11-98.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season]] significantly impacted outer Sydney and dramatically reduced air quality, leading to a smoky haze that lingered for days. The [[air quality]] was 11 times the [[hazard]]ous level in some days,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/sydney-smoke-haze-reaches-11-times-the-hazardous-level/video/1d45b28f8c2459ee9ecfb9fee65fbbfe |title=Sydney smoke haze reaches 11 times the hazardous level |date=10 December 2019 |access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2019/dec/10/sydneys-top-landmarks-smothered-in-smoke-in-pictures |title=Sydney smoke: bushfires haze smothers landmarks – in pictures |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 December 2019 |access-date=1 January 2020 |last1=Hromas |first1=Jessica}}</ref> worse than [[New Delhi]]'s;<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/temperature-inversion-traps-smoke-in-sydney/news-story/b6d804cc21eaaaf9b88ec6a448285be8 |title=Bushfire smoke makes Sydney air quality worse than Delhi |date=3 December 2019 |access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref> it was compared to "smoking 32 cigarettes" by Brian Oliver, a respiratory diseases scientist at the [[University of Technology Sydney]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/sydney-fire-haze-equal-to-smoking-32-cigarettes/news-story/7ab680a39edd6d87ae76e35894f949f6 |title=Sydney fire haze equal to 'smoking 32 cigarettes' |newspaper=News |date=22 November 2019 |access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref> Since Sydney is surrounded by bushland and forest,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/lessons-learnt-and-perhaps-forgotten-from-australia-s-worst-fires-20190108-p50qol.html |title=Lessons learnt (and perhaps forgotten) from Australia's 'worst fires'|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=11 January 2019}}</ref> bushfires can ring the region in a [[natural phenomena]] that is labelled "ring of fire".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-bushfires-idUSKBN1YM2KN |title=Ring of fire: Australian state declares emergency as wildfires approach Sydney|work=[[Reuters]]|date=19 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wionews.com/photos/ring-of-fire-australian-declares-state-emergency-as-wildfires-approach-sydney-269117/#three-blazes-ringing-sydney-269110 |title=Ring of fire: Australian state declares emergency as wildfires approach Sydney|work=[[WION]]|date=19 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/ring-of-fire-surrounds-sydney-20191221-p53m53.html |title=Ring of fire surrounds Sydney|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=21 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/teenagers-arrested-as-ring-of-fire-surrounds-sydney-1.408598 |title=Teenagers arrested as ring of fire surrounds Sydney|work=[[Irish Times]]|date=28 December 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://mashable.com/article/sydney-blade-runner-smoke-photos-australia-bushfires|title=Blade Runner 2019: Smoke from terrifying 'ring of fire' turns Sydney's skies apocalypse red|work=[[Mashable]]|date=9 December 2019}}</ref>

The City of Sydney became the first council in Australia to achieve formal certification as [[carbon-neutral]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Sydney-Water-to-become-carbon-neutral/2007/07/19/1184559926917.html |title=Sydney Water to become carbon neutral |work=[[The Age]] |date=19 July 2007 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/sydney-becomes-australias-first-carbon-neutral-government-body.html |title=Sydney Becomes Australia's First Carbon-Neutral Government Body |work=treehugger.com |date=5 September 2008 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> The city has reduced its 2007 carbon emissions by 6% and since 2006 has reduced carbon emissions from city buildings by up to 20%.<ref name="SustainableSydney2030">{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/vision/sustainable-sydney-2030/achievements |title=Achievements: City of Sydney |work=cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/4772-its-official-sydney-is-first-carbon-neutral-council/ |title=It's official, Sydney is first carbon neutral council |date=9 November 2011 |publisher=City of Sydney |access-date=3 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203061048/http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/4772-its-official-sydney-is-first-carbon-neutral-council/ |archive-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> The ''Sustainable Sydney 2030'' program presented a guide to reducing energy in homes and offices by 30%.<ref name="SustainableSydney2030" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climatecontrolnews.com.au/news/building-owners-applaud-city-s-ambitious-master-plan |title=Building owners applaud city's ambitious master plan |date=25 February 2015 |website=climatecontrolnews.com.au |access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> Reductions in energy consumption have slashed energy bills by $30&nbsp;million a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/18/sydney-businesses-cotton-on-climate-change-action-is-good-for-the-bottom-line |title=Sydney businesses cotton on: climate change action is good for the bottom line |work=The Guardian (UK) |date=18 March 2015 |access-date=19 March 2015}}</ref> [[Solar panels]] have been established on many CBD buildings to minimise carbon pollution by around 3,000 tonnes a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/city-sydney-extends-solar-roll-historic-rocks-88330 |title=City of Sydney extends solar roll out to historic Rocks |date=16 June 2014 |access-date=3 February 2015 |work=RenewEconomy.com}}</ref>

The city also has an "[[urban forest]] growth strategy", in which it aims to regularly increase the [[shade tree|tree coverage]] in the city by frequently planting trees with strong leaf density and [[vegetation]] to provide cleaner air and create moisture during hot weather, thus lowering city temperatures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/132249/Urban-Forest-Strategy-Adopted-Feb-2013.pdf |title=Urban Forest Strategy |date=February 2013 |access-date=6 May 2015}}</ref> Sydney has also become a leader in the development of [[green building|green office buildings]] and enforcing the requirement of all building proposals to be energy-efficient. The [[Central Park, Sydney|One Central Park]] development, completed in 2013, is an example of this implementation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/greenest-sydney-building-using-rainforest-timber-20110727-1hz71.html |title='Greenest' Sydney building using rainforest timber |work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=27 July 2011 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centralparksydney.com/gardens/ |title=One Central Park Gardens |publisher=Frasers Property |access-date=3 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923041440/http://www.centralparksydney.com/gardens/ |archive-date=23 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="OCP arc">{{cite web |url=http://www.centralparksydney.com/architecture/ |title=Central Park Sydney – Architecture |publisher=Frasers Property |access-date=3 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005163802/http://www.centralparksydney.com/architecture |archive-date=5 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.afr.com/p/202020_vision/sydney_central_park_project_shows_IFwlwOc7VqwlXPkqUD85GN |title=Sydney Central Park project shows sustainable living |work=[[The Australian Financial Review|Financial Review]] |date=28 November 2013 |access-date=3 February 2015 |last1=Gliddon |first1=Josh }}</ref>

===Car-dependency===
[[File:Warringah Freeway2.jpg|thumb|[[Traffic congestion]] on the [[Warringah Freeway]], [[Milsons Point]]]]
Australian cities are some of the most [[car dependency|car-dependent]] cities in the world,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.socsci.flinders.edu.au/geog/geos/PDF%20Papers/Amphlett.pdf |title=Car dependence in Australian cities: a discussion of causes, environmental impact and possible solutions |work=[[Flinders University]] study |access-date=3 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301005900/http://www.socsci.flinders.edu.au/geog/geos/PDF%20Papers/Amphlett.pdf |archive-date=1 March 2011}}</ref> especially by world city standards, although Sydney's is the lowest of Australia's major cities at 66%.<ref name="Charting Transport-2023">[https://chartingtransport.com/#mode Charting Transport], retrieved 27 October 2017</ref> Sydney also has the [[Modal share|highest usage of public transport]] in an Australian city, at 27%–comparable with New York City, Shanghai and Berlin. Despite its high ranking for an Australian city, Sydney has a low level of public transport services, with a historically low-density layout and significant [[urban sprawl]], thus increasing the likelihood of car dependency.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/sydney-not-yet-a-true-global-city-20140412-zqtpy.html |title=Sydney not yet a true global city |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=12 April 2014 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/cbds-turning-into-no-car-zones-as-the-great-divide-grows/story-e6frg9jx-1226493122243 |title=CBDs turning into no-car zones as the great divide grows |work=[[The Australian]] |date=11 October 2015 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref>

Strategies have been implemented to reduce private [[car pollution|vehicle pollution]] by encouraging [[public transport]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statetransit.info/bus-fleet/buses-and-the-environment |title=Buses and the Environment |work=statetransit.info |access-date=3 February 2015 |archive-date=3 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203054323/http://www.statetransit.info/bus-fleet/buses-and-the-environment |url-status=dead}}</ref> initiating the development of high density housing and introducing a fleet of 10 new [[electric cars]], the largest order of the pollution-free vehicle in Australia.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/city-clears-the-way-on-pollution-free-car-fleet/ |title=City clears the way on pollution-free car fleet |publisher=City of Sydney |date=15 February 2013 |access-date=3 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504082128/http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/city-clears-the-way-on-pollution-free-car-fleet/ |archive-date=4 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Electric cars do not produce carbon monoxide and [[nitrous oxide]], which contribute to climate change.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html |title=Causes of Climate Change |work=epa.gov |date=12 August 2013 |access-date=10 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="ipcc">{{cite book  |date=2021 |author=IPCC|title=Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |chapter=Global carbon and other biogeochemical cycles and feedbacks |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, US |chapter-url= https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter_05.pdf |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1 }}</ref> [[Cycling|Cycling trips]] increased by 113% across Sydney's inner-city from 2010 to 2015, at which point about 2,000 bikes were passing through top peak-hour intersections on an average weekday.<ref name="SustainableSydney2030" /> Transport developments in the [[Sydney Metro Northwest|north-west]] and east of the city have been designed to encourage use of the expanding public transportation system.