Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are escalating, with a recent report suggesting that our country could soon become one of the major global sources of climate pollution, largely due to our coal and gas exports.

However, while national climate policy stagnates, many of our cities are moving forward with smart, ambitious climate and energy plans.

It's not just the capital city big hitters like Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne that are leading the charge - across the country, regional centres are emerging as climate leaders.

Regional cities with a strong, coordinated climate response can have a huge impact in accelerating renewable energy uptake in their area, and the local shift away from reliance on fossil fuel industries.

Take Newcastle as an example. Formerly one of the world's busiest coal ports is being reborn as a renewable energy powerhouse.

With projects in the works ranging from a 5MW solar farm on a former landfill site through to council plans to cut electricity consumption by almost a third by 2020, Newcastle shows how a concerted regional focus on climate solutions can achieve big results in a relatively short space of time.

Port Augusta, in South Australia, is another regional centre that's charting a shift away from coal.

The Port Augusta community suffered devastating job losses when the last of its brown coal plants was closed in 2016.

Just three years later, it's become one of the country's biggest producers of renewable power, boasting Australia's largest solar farm and creating hundreds of new employment opportunities.

With many of our regional areas highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and also the impacts on economic security as the fossil fuel industry dwindles towards financial unviability, it's critical that our regional leaders take action, now.

We can't wait for national or state climate and energy policy to catch up - there isn't time.

Working together through alliances and with their communities, regional powerhouses can foster innovation and investment in clean energy. Together we can forge a prosperous, renewable-powered future.