A GROUP of locals are banding together for the upcoming council meeting to ask the Surf Coast Shire Council to declare a climate emergency.<\/p>\n
This is being done as part of the Council and Community Action in the Climate Emergency (CACE) initiative, which has seen over 800 councils declare a state of emergency.<\/p>\n
Alex Marshall met with people from CACE to start a movement in the Surf Coast earlier in the year.<\/p>\n
She said that declaring an emergency would help moblilise the council and the residents in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmergency declaration launches us in action and eliminates the debate on the severity of the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows the community to discuss one of the biggest issues of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Marshall also said the council had been supportive of the group, who have attended the last two council meetings dressed in red to show their support for the cause.<\/p>\n
For the June meeting around 40 people attended, by the time the next meeting was held in July that number had almost doubled.<\/p>\n
At the last meeting they also presented a petition with over 1,000 signatures on it.<\/p>\n
The group want the council to acknowledge the climate change emergency and review their strategic plan. They also want council to create a foundation for climate emergency action and implement a climate emergency plan.<\/p>\n
The Yarra City Council was the first to declare a climate emergency when they did so in February 2017. Since then councils in London, Quebec and Paris have all followed suit, as the Argentinian Senate.<\/p>\n
The group are inviting others to dress in red and join them at the next council meeting.<\/p>\n
That meeting will be held at the council shire at 5.30pm on Tuesday August 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A GROUP of locals are banding together for the upcoming council meeting to ask the Surf Coast Shire Council to declare a climate emergency. This is being done as part of the Council and Community Action in the Climate Emergency (CACE) initiative, which has seen over 800 councils declare a state of emergency. Alex Marshall […]<\/p>\n