First however, the Shire wants to be recognised for its environmental efforts so far.

Councillor Susan Reynolds said emissions in the Upper Lachlan Shire amounted to 389,000 tonnes in 2019.

However, host to around half of the wind farms in NSW, the Shire abates 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 through exporting renewable energy to NSW and the ACT.

"We're abating four times the amount of CO2 that we're emitting," Cr Reynolds said.

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Introducing regenerative farming practices, installing solar panels and greening spaces were all other measures Cr Reynolds said were also helping to guide the Shire onto the path of net zero.

Upper Lachlan Shire Council has now taken its case to the NSW Government, hoping to become the very first officially recognised carbon neutral shire.

"First we need to confirm all the science behind our data is in fact accurate," Cr Reynolds said.

"But I think we have a very strong case and some senior bureaucrats and ministers agree."

Mayor Pam Kensit said she hoped their claim to be recognised as carbon neutral would set a precedent for such matters.

Currently there is no official set of criteria to ratify such claims.

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Mayor Kensit said the Shire would not receive any monetary gain but was solely seeking the recognition.

"We hope by being officially recognised as carbon neutral we can further attract green industries," she said.

With already low emissions and just one person per square kilometre living in the Shire, Ms Kensit said they were starting the longer journey towards net zero in a good position.

The motion to transition the Shire to net zero by 2025, and at the latest 2030, was agreed upon unanimously at the latest council meeting on May 19.

Mayor Kensit said once the Council heard back from the NSW Government on whether its carbon neutral claim had been approved, it would work with the public to come up with strategies to continue to abate emissions over the coming years.

"The Council is very enthusiastic about this case," she said.

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