Climate win for the borough

People power has been behind the Borough of Queenscliffe gaining national recognition for its Climate Emergency Response Plan (CERP).

The borough took out the Community Choice Award at the Cities Power Partnership Climate Awards.

Competing against seven other jurisdictions from across the country – including the ACT Government, Brisbane City Council and City of Adelaide – the borough’s efforts earned top marks in the publicly-voted prize.

The CERP, adopted at council’s Ordinary Meeting in May 2021, commits council to support the community in achieving net-zero emissions by 2031.

It also includes interim steps such as matching local electricity consumption with a 100 per cent renewable supply by 2025.

“It’s fitting that a project as community driven as our Climate Emergency Response Plan has received the Community Choice Award,” Queenscliffe mayor Ross Ebbels said.

“Despite the borough’s small size, we’re determined to play a big part in addressing the impact of climate change.”

The Climate Council, which organised the awards, praised Victoria’s smallest council for “punching above its weight in climate action”, as well as highlighting the borough’s engagement with the Queenscliffe Climate Action Group (QCAG) in developing the plan.

QCAG founder and president Kitty Walker said the title – announced during an online awards ceremony last week – was a fitting reward for the community after what had been a challenging 18 months.

“It’s incredible to receive this type of recognition from the Climate Council for the thousands of people who love Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale and are on this journey with us,” Ms Walker said.

“We know there is an enormous amount of work ahead of us, but our community is in for the long haul and we look forward to ticking off more achievements in the coming months and years.”

Those achievements will include increasing the borough’s solar penetration, community battery energy storage solutions, the elimination of single-use plastics and environmental regeneration projects.

Queenscliffe CEO Martin Gill praised community members for their ongoing cooperation with council during the development process of the CERP and beyond.

“We’ve worked hand-in-hand with many members of the community throughout the entire process of developing the CERP, and this really is the community’s award to accept and promote,” he said.

“Our residents and ratepayers know what it takes to be a climate response leader, and we’re excited to continue to collaborate with them as we implement the plan.”