Councillors agreed to adopt a motion committing the community to a net zero goal by 2050, in line with the NSW government's state-wide mandate, but clashed over whether council should adopt its own, more ambitious target by 2030.

After more than an hour of discussion, the deadline for the corporate target was pushed back to 2040 and a motion to scrap it entirely was defeated in a four to five vote.

A report prepared by council staff says the organisation is a significant contributor to overall community emissions in its responsibility for a wide range of public services, mainly through electricity for streetlighting and running of its facilities, gas usage in facilities, and petrol and diesel for its vehicle fleet.

Speaking at the meeting, councillor Rod Kendall pushed for the 10 year delay but said council would be "waddling about blindly" if it went down the path of not having its own corporate emissions target at all.

Cr Kendall, Mayor Greg Conkey, deputy mayor Dallas Tout and councillors Vanessa Keenan and Dan Hayes all voted down an amendment that would have removed the corporate target, defeating councillors Paul Funnell, Yvonne Braid, Tim Koschel and Kerry Pascoe in their opposition to it.

Cr Koschel said he supported a 2050 net zero emissions goal for council in line with the community but said he didn't know if council could or should hold itself to a distinct, earlier target.

"We're running at nine consecutive years of deficits. We have to get our own house in order and we have to be able to afford the things we need to afford," he said.

Ultimately, Cr Koschel and Cr Funnell voted against the overall motion setting both the council and community emissions target while the other seven councillors supported it.

Speaking this morning, council director of community and environment Janice Summerhayes said council would devise an action plan to achieve the target through a "mix of projects" such as solar panels and LED lighting.

"We're really just falling in line with other councils and other government initiatives to set that pace, I guess, for council," she said. "And over that time frame given our track record we feel that it's very achievable."

Council managed to reduce its 2006 carbon emissions by 29 per cent by 2020, largely due to its introduction of the green and food waste bin.

Mrs Summerhayes said council staff would start working on a 2040 plan and that she would "leave the politics for the future" when new councillors are elected.