At Monday night's council meeting, Cr Bradbery put forward a motion calling on councillors to reaffirm the commitment to net zero emissions for council operations by 2030 and for Wollongong by 2050.

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He also wanted council to write to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for a national response to reduce emissions.

In 2019 council adopted its net zero emissions by 2030 policy for its own operations after becoming a signatory to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

This followed on from the August 2019 move from councillors to declare a climate emergency.

Cr Bradbery's motion on Monday night was one of four climate-related motions that came before councillors.

The impetus for the Lord Mayor's motion was the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.

"In our climate change adaptation plan Wollongong City Council acknowledges our commitment and position on climate change and the urgency to respond earlier than 2050," Cr Bradbery said at Monday night's meeting.

"We have committed to our part in addressing the calamity before us but unless there is national and international acknowledgement and corresponding action on greenhouse gas emissions production to net zero then our efforts are pointless.

"To keep consistency we urge our Prime Minister, who will attend the Glasgow COP26, to add his voice in support of action both with policy and strategy to address climate change by applying net zero greenhouse gas emission targets sooner than 2050."

Cr Bradbery said it was no longer an excuse to claim Australia was too small to make a difference.

"We acknowledge that Australia is limited in its ability to influence international decisions but not to attempt to add a voice with many others and not to commit to mitigation to mitigate our greenhouse gas emissions before 2050 and to address environmental damage is not tenable," he said.

"We as a council have limited levers and leverage to bring about change - that hasn't stopped us from addressing and applying those opportunities we have available to us in Wollongong."

The motion also called for "a moment of prayer, reflection or silent contemplation" on October 31 - the day before the Glasgow summit.

"I would like to call upon all our residents in our city to spend a moment on contemplating the possibility that we could lose our beautiful environment, our flora and fauna, if we continue on this particular trajectory," he said.

The motion was passed unanimously.

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