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Councils take the lead on climate change resilient communities

By intouch * posted 22-08-2019 09:58

  

Local communities are preparing for climate change with actions ranging from information sessions with environmental psychologists, to conducting insurance risk assessments.

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Taking urgent action on climate change was a key theme of the resolutions passed at the National General Assembly of Local Government in July. Since then, several councils have passed climate change emergency declarations, including the Cities of Melbourne and Sydney.

The Australian Local Government Association has updated progress since the conference:

New South Wales

Ten NSW councils ranging from rural to metropolitan councils have shared in $1.16m worth of grants in the second round of the State Government’s ‘Increasing Resilience to Climate Change’ scheme.

“The IRCC grants are being delivered in partnership with Local Government NSW and will range between $30,000 – $120,000 for individual councils to implement specific climate change adaptation and resilience projects,” said Office of Environment and Heritage Director of Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions, Stephen Bygrave.

“These projects include asset or building upgrades to minimise climate impacts like extreme heat and floods, community engagement programs that build capacity and awareness, detailed cost benefit analysis, specifications to support implementation of adaptation actions.”

Wingecarribee Shire Council, in the NSW Southern Highlands, provides high-quality drinking water to shire residents, which could be jeopardised during weather extremes such as a protracted heatwave.

The council’s Water, Sewer and Drainage Asset Coordinator, Tim Day said their $50,000 grant will be used to conduct a feasibility study exploring how portable water treatment units could be used to treat raw water from alternate dam sources.

“As part of the study, we’ll look at scalability and determine the practicality of using similar methods at other dam sources,” said Day.

Queensland

In Queensland, more than 30 councils are participating in the LGAQ and Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s Queensland Climate Resilient Councils Program.

All Queensland councils are eligible for a free face-to-face briefing and governance assessment in which council and its management teams learn about the concepts including legal liabilities, finance and insurance costs and economic and social considerations from climate change.

Victoria

Victorian councils are running a variety of projects to help their communities respond to climate change. Some have installed solar panels on their buildings or helped invest in community-run renewable energy schemes.

Yarra Ranges Council, for example, will host a presentation called ‘Community solutions in a changing climate’, aimed at residents with concerns about climate change. The session follows an earlier presentation on farming and agricultural solutions in a changing climate.

Utilities

Utilities are also joining in to adapt and try to save money and resources. The sewerage treatment plant on the VIC-NSW border consumes a quarter of the Victorian North East Water Corporation’s total energy requirements and will soon be solar-powered. The treatment plant will be powered by a 3-megawatt solar farm comprising 10,000 solar panels. Excess electricity will be fed into the grid and off-set other treatment plants.

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