The summer's bushfires and extreme weather have profoundly affected the university, with campuses closed at different points due to the threat from fires, unsafe levels of smoke, and hail damage in recent months.

Now the university's council has pledged to speak out on climate change and work with industry and government to ensure wider action is taken.

In one of the first big moves by the council under the leadership of new chancellor Julie Bishop, the university has committed to net negative emissions "as soon as possible".

The resolution passed by the university's most senior leadership acknowledged that the extreme weather events and bushfires that had battered its community were "exacerbated by climate change, as ANU scientists, among others, have long predicted and warned".

"ANU needs to respond to these challenges with a continued focus on world-leading climate research and adapt to climate change.

"Australia is seen by the rest of the world as the front line when it comes to the impact of climate change with the disastrous bushfires, the torrential rain, and floods that have devastated so much of our community including our wildlife," Ms Bishop said.

"We understand the challenge and that we have the resources with our world-leading research here at ANU to help address these problems."

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"The ANU Council therefore recognises the urgency of action to address the growing climate challenge, to which the university will respond collectively, using the resources at its disposal," the resolution said.

The resources at the university's disposal include its Climate Change Institute, with director Mark Howden and his colleagues to research ways the university can reduce its own emissions, like through the use of electric cars.

"Importantly, the IPCC shows that to keep global temperatures to within 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels we also have to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - going to net negative emissions," Professor Howden said.

"This is the aim of the ANU Below Zero initiative. One way of doing this is via management of the trees and soil in ANU's land holdings or, as an interim option, via purchased verified carbon offsets."

Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt said universities are ultimately where solutions will be found to mitigating the effects of climate change, and that Australian National University wanted to be a leader on the issue.

"The university has made a decision that it is going to go greenhouse gas negative in the near future because we think we can and to basically show society that it is not that difficult," Professor Schmidt said.

It is unclear whether the Australian government will commit to a net-zero carbon emissions target.

While it had been reported that the Australian government is considering taking a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 to the upcoming UN climate summit in November, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the government favours a "technology over taxation" approach.