Open for submissions
Consultation is open until 5pm Friday 31 July 2026.
The Commission has launched a public Call for Evidence to inform the development of the first NSW-specific set of decarbonisation pathways (pathways). These pathways will show how the different sectors of NSW’s economy can practically work together to achieve the state’s legislated emissions reduction targets.
To build these pathways properly, the Commission needs evidence and data from the people and organisations who know their sectors and communities best. By contributing, you can help ensure the Commission's policy advice and progress tracking are grounded in real-world, up-to-date data and practical experience.
Through our previous consultation and engagement activities we have received a broad range of feedback on NSW’s approach to decarbonisation. These responses are being used to inform our work. We welcome new or further responses from interested stakeholders.
What we're asking
We are seeking feedback from across all sectors, communities and regions, including industry, businesses, researchers, community organisations and individuals.
We want to understand opportunities and barriers to:
- improving the effectiveness of NSW’s transition to net zero, taking into consideration infrastructure, economic effects, investment and just transition
- sectoral and workforce transitions, including technology development, deployment, operational and behaviour change across sectors (electricity & energy, transport, industry, resources, built environment, land & agriculture, waste and carbon removals)
- addressing socio-economic priorities for a just transition, including equitable outcomes for First Nations peoples and regional, rural, and remote communities.
You do not need to respond to every question. Please focus on the areas most relevant to your expertise or lived experience.
How to participate
Consultation is open from 18 June to 5pm 31 July 2026.
Please see the guided questions and submit your feedback by completing the online submission form below.
Evidence
We are gathering evidence to inform the different inputs and assumptions that will be used across the pathway scenarios. The below questions are non-exhaustive key interest areas; you may choose which questions to respond to. We welcome insights beyond the scope of these questions.
In addition to the questions below, we are seeking specific evidence such as data, cost modelling, deployment experience or on-the-ground evidence relevant to the development of pathways.
We recognise that some of the most valuable evidence such as facility-level cost data, investment pipeline information and commercially sensitive deployment plans cannot be shared in a public submission.
Submissions can be marked confidential, in which case they will be used only to inform the modelling assumptions, and will not be shown in any public documentation. We encourage anyone with data, including commercially sensitive data, to provide information. Please note in your submission if you would like all or part of your content to remain confidential.
Following receipt of submissions, the Commission will analyse responses and may reach out for further information.
Guided questions
Policies and market mechanisms
- What opportunities or barriers could improve the effectiveness of NSW’s transition to net zero?
- What policies or market mechanisms could accelerate emissions reductions in specific sectors or communities? What barriers or opportunities exist for their adoption, including any evidence from businesses, industry and/or comparable jurisdictions?
- How could the NSW Government better stimulate private finance at the scale and pace needed for the net zero transition?
- What are the drivers and risks to reaching NSW’s interim targets in 2030 and 2035, and net zero by 2050?
- What are the opportunities or barriers for collaboration across sectors to support the transition?
Technology and behaviour change
- What are the opportunities and barriers to technology development, deployment for each sector? This may include:
- What technologies are available or emerging in your sector, and what is their current state of readiness?
- What constraints exist around technology uptake and deployment?
- What does the evidence say about current and future costs?
- What role could the NSW Government play in strengthening technology development and deployment?
- What are the opportunities to foster demand reduction and behaviour change?
Economic impacts and just transition
- What are the likely economic effects on NSW of different emissions pathways to net zero, relative to NSW’s current level of ambition?
- What are the most significant economic or workforce pressures the pathways should account for in your sector or community
- What are the opportunities and barriers to addressing socio-economic priorities for a just transition, including equitable outcomes for First Nations peoples and rural, regional and remote communities?
Evidence and other considerations
- What evidence can you provide to inform pathway inputs and assumptions? For example, cost curves, deployment rates, or sector-specific data, include commercially sensitive data where relevant.
- Beyond emissions reduction, what outcomes should be considered? For example, impacts on business, jobs, land-use, water and biodiversity.
- Do you have any other comments or information you would like to provide?
Sector-specific areas of focus
The Commission’s definition of sectors is provided in Appendix 1.
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Deployment of renewable energy generation assets and transmission infrastructure build-out, including Renewable Energy Zone delivery
- Adoption of Consumer Energy Resources, including rooftop solar, household batteries and vehicle-to-grid, as well as other distributed solutions such as community batteries
- Electricity demand, including new sources like data centres, industrial demand management, load shifting and battery deployment and their market impacts
- Equity in the electricity transition, including strengthening community engagement in infrastructure deployment and benefit-sharing
- Infrastructure, market, policy and demand-side conditions needed to support the orderly closure of coal-fired generation assets in NSW
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Transitioning to electric vehicles, considering passenger and heavy vehicles, and autonomous/shared ownership models, including rollout of charging infrastructure
- Transitioning and mode shifting for freight and the infrastructure and fuel supply needed, including for road freight, shipping and aviation
- Adoption of renewable and low emission fuels, including hydrogen
- Increasing public transport, cycling and walking
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Electrification of smaller industrial facilities and low to medium temperature process heat, including supply chain considerations
- Significant process changes needed to decarbonise key large facilities
- Key interactions and synergies between industries, facilities and regional hubs, such as electricity, clean fuel, waste or supply chain infrastructure, including embodied emissions of infrastructure and power generation.
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- The areas explored and recommendations in the Commission’s recent Coal Mining Emissions Spotlight Report
- Potential emissions and other aspects of new minerals and metals mining, including critical minerals
- Driving effective workforce changes and a just transition
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Electrification of residential and commercial buildings, including demand-side measures
- Improving energy efficiency measures, including technology upgrades and improvements to thermal shells (e.g. insulation)
- Addressing fugitive emissions from refrigerants
- Reporting, tracking and addressing embodied carbon and supply chain emissions, including upstream industrial and transport emissions
- Systemic changes to how people live, work and the design of the built environment
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Agricultural practices that support high permanence carbon storage and/or reduce emissions
- Driving shifts to land uses for high permanence carbon storage and improved environmental outcomes, including how to balance necessary other land uses
- Potential changes to production mix, and to domestic and export markets, that impact land and agriculture across different products (e.g. meat, fibre, cropping, timber and others)
- Government action to promote land regeneration and conservation, including e.g. land buy-back
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Increasing landfill gas capture
- Driving circular economy principles (e.g. reducing waste, increasing recycling, etc.)
- Any other issues
Opportunities, barriers and timelines for:
- Maintaining or expanding high permanence carbon stored in land and aquatic systems
- Engineered carbon removals, such as direct air capture
- Carbon capture, use and storage and permanence considerations
- Any other issues
Submit your feedback
Appendix 1: Net Zero Commission Sector breakdown
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Electricity generation
- Petroleum and coal product manufacturing, petroleum refining and electrical equipment used in the transmission and distribution of electricity
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Cars
- Heavy duty trucks and buses
- Light commercial vehicles
- Domestic aviation
- Other – domestic shipping, railways, pipelines (transport of gases and liquids) and mobile refrigeration and air conditioning
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Metal industries, mineral industries, food and beverages industries, chemical industries and other industries
- Fuel combustion from these industries
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Fuel combustion in mining – coal mining and other mining
- Fugitive emissions from coal mining
- Fuel combustion and fugitive emissions from oil and gas
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- On site fuels – commercial/institutional and residential
- Refrigeration – fugitive emissions from domestic and commercial refrigeration, and stationary air conditioning
- Other – aerosols and construction
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Croplands
- Deforestation – converted forestland, grassland and cropland
- Existing forests – carbon stock exchange, wildfires, controlled burning
- Grasslands
- Reforestation and afforestation – conversion to forest lands
- Other – harvested wood products and wetlands
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Agricultural soils – direct and indirect soil emissions including fertilisers, urine and dung deposited by animals, crop residues
- Enteric fermentation
- Manure management
- Fuel use and other – fuel combustion, rice cultivation, liming and field burning
Inclusions, mapped at a high level to IPCC sectors:
- Solid waste disposal and treatment
- Incineration and biological treatment of waste
- Wastewater treatment and discharge
Got questions?
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