CANBERRA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national science agency has announced a plan to cut its carbon emissions by half in about 10 years.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Tuesday signed a 10-year renewable power purchase agreement with the battery company ZEN Energy, which will enable it to halve its emissions from electricity.
Under the agreement, 26 CSIRO research sites in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria including the Parkes Radio Telescope observatory, the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Center will be solar powered.
The deal is the largest agreement of its type signed by an Australian government agency, according to the CSIRO.
"This is a very significant step towards being net-zero in our operations, and is in line with our broader remit to help Australia navigate to a low emissions future," Dave Agnew, the CSIRO's director of business and infrastructure services, said in a statement.
"We aspire to be an organization that promotes and demonstrates sustainable operations and practices that are consistent with our science and innovation impact," he said.
In August the CSIRO committed itself to facilitating Australia's transition to net-zero emissions "without derailing the economy" and creating a hydrogen industry to generate a new clean energy export industry.
The agency has also installed solar panels with the capacity to generate more than five megawatts of renewable energy at 10 sites nationally, reducing the CSIRO's carbon emissions by approximately 5,900 tonnes each year.
