Council commits to accelerated action on climate change
20 July 2020
Range of decisions will better protect the community, economy and environment
Tweed Shire Council has confirmed its commitment to strengthening the Tweed’s resilience to climate change and taking responsibility for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
Councillors made a range of decisions with a climate change focus at its June Council meeting (the last regular Council meeting).
The review of the Renewable Energy Action Plan highlighted that carbon savings, while substantially increased, had not been as high as projected and Councillors called for further action to meet the 2022 and 2025 targets.
A Climate Change Management Policy was adopted, providing a solid framework for Council’s principles and goals to reduce the risks and impacts of climate change and reduce our emissions to net zero by 2030.
An Interim Climate Action Plan to ramp up action to respond to the Climate Emergency Declaration also was adopted. The plan includes 57 greenhouse gas emissions reduction and climate change adaptation actions.
Thirteen of these are aspirational actions that need to be further developed to gather evidence of their impact, what resources will be needed to deliver them and the effectiveness of these actions compared to other current projects.
Council also resolved to proceed with the review of tenders for large site retail electricity, with the view to entering into a Power Purchase agreement signalling its intention to facilitate investment in renewable energy sources.
Mayor of Tweed Katie Milne welcomed the recent decisions.
“These important decisions will show current and future generations that this Council takes climate change seriously,” Cr Milne said.
“While we had a significant setback on our Renewable Energy Action Plan, Councillors committed to stepping up action to still meet our targets and a net zero emissions by 2030.
“It was one step backwards but three steps forward. It feels like we have really reached a momentous time in taking leadership in this space with these vital decisions.
“We are committed to support our community’s resilience to climate hazards and will continue to work hard to restore our landscapes and lead the way for our community so we all reduce our impacts on climate change.
“We’ll be doing more to work out ways to boost our cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy results to reduce costs, deliver better outcomes for the community and businesses, protect our internationally significant environment and reduce our contribution to climate change.”
Council will continue to provide more detail about the effects of climate change in the Tweed, the costs and effectiveness of action to respond to climate change and more opportunities for the community to contribute to decision-making on climate change related topics.
To view the reports, visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/councilmeetings and click on the 18 June Council meeting.
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