Report supports declaring climate emergency

THE Surf Coast Shire is ramping up its environmental activism, with councillors agreeing with the officers’ recommendation to formally declare a “climate emergency”.

In July, the council received two petitions with a combined 1,149 signatures requesting the shire make the declaration and considered their formal response at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The officers’ report notes that there was a growing acknowledgment both locally and globally that “a more significant and urgent climate change response is required”.

“The Victorian Government has accepted the priority for climate change through its Climate Change Framework (2016). The state government and our community see local government as having an important role in responding to climate change.

“Council and the community are already taking action to respond to climate change, however, the petitions are seeking a greater effort and focus from Council beyond business as usual on this issue.”

As well as declaring a climate emergency, officers recommended the council commit to develop a Climate Emergency Response Plan in partnership with the community.

Suggested ideas or actions include:

• Use gas from the Anglesea landfill flare to generate electricity or heat
• Offset residual emissions (such as landfill) through investments in local environmental improvement or restoration programs
• Make bio-char and energy from the organic waste at the landfill
• Raise the minimum Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) requirements through the shire’s local planning scheme and advocate for higher standards in the building code
• Use the rates mechanism to support low income households to improve their home energy efficiency or install solar, and
• Transition the council’s fleet to lower emission vehicles.

The Surf Coast Shire’s declaration of a climate emergency joins 958 government declarations internationally, 36 government declarations in Australia and nine government declarations in Victoria.