The following stories are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to local government action on climate change and sustainability, providing a brief glimpse of some of the steps being taken by councils to mitigate the impact of global warming.
The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA) has project managed a $740,000 national research program, through the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF), that identifies the likely impact of climate change on Australia’s local government infrastructure, such as the 84 percent of the nation’s roads for which councils are responsible.
LGASA President, Mayor Kym McHugh, said the research data will be used to develop an asset management model tool for use by all Australian councils, to assist them in identifying the impact of the changing climate on local roads.
Mayor McHugh said that because roads and related assets were built to last up to 50 years or longer, minor improvements in planning projects in the next decade, such as choosing more heat resistant materials, could result in multi-million dollar savings over the life of the assets.
“Local government’s current maintenance and replacement agenda for hard assets, such as roads, has not previously incorporated the likely effects of climate change and any flow on effects.
“As a result, local government has been limited in our capacity to estimate the financial implications and impacts of changing climatic conditions, particularly on roads, which are our major asset,” said Mayor McHugh.
The NCCARF project, led by the LGASA, was a national first in bringing together multi-disciplinary teams from academia, including the University of South Australia, with local government stakeholders, to investigate the data needed to develop a management tool with a national application.
“As a result, and when the management tool is built, every council in Australia will have access to a universal model that will allow them to quantify —
that is, look at the dollar cost of — climate change impacts on all road surfaces, bitumen or unsealed roads,” said Mayor McHugh.
The NCCARF Report is available at: www.nccarf.edu.au/publications/quantifying-cost-climate-change-impacts
Yarra certified carbon neutral
The City of Yarra Council has been recognised as Victoria’s first carbon neutral council under the Australian Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS).
Newly-elected Mayor, Councillor Jackie Fristacky said that achieving the certification, through Low Carbon Australia’s carbon neutral program, was a milestone in Council’s journey towards long-term sustainability.
“We knew we were heading in the right direction when Yarra was named Victoria’s Sustainable City of the Year in 2011, so it is wonderful to be able to say that Yarra is now carbon neutral,” said Cr Fristacky.
“This certification means Council has met Australia’s benchmark for achieving carbon neutrality, and we are delighted to be the first Victorian Council to achieve that status.
“What it means is that Council has invested in accredited renewable energy projects that offset emissions we create as an organisation. However, it is not as simple as purchasing offsets to account for our annual emissions and claiming to be a carbon reduction leader.
“To be certified under NCOS, organisations must also demonstrate that they are cutting the amount of energy they consume in real terms. Council has a strategy to do that, and since 2000-2001 has reduced its annual energy use by almost 25 percent.
“We have installed energy efficient globes in our street lights, solar panels and hot water systems in Council buildings, and introduced on-site energy creation at the Collingwood Leisure Centre.”
Cr Fristacky said that the City of Yarra Council would continue to work towards its goal of reducing the organisation’s total energy use by 50 percent and generating 25 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2015.
Cairns monitors energy consumption & costs
Cairns Regional Council has developed and deployed Australia’s first local government Intranet-based Energy & Emissions System (EES), to collect, monitor and report on Council’s energy consumption, energy costs and associated emissions.
The EES aims to increase the accuracy, transparency and efficient collection of Council’s energy and emissions data, assisting Council in their preparation for the carbon economy and reducing risk by increasing awareness of the organisation’s energy use, the related costs and
carbon emissions.
The EES also gives Council officers the opportunity to use the system at their own desk, creating reports on costs, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for the whole organisation, right down to business activities and specific facilities.
The EES accounts for emissions from a range of Council’s activity sources, including electricity, gas, fuel, refrigerants, wastewater treatment and landfill, and was designed to align with the National Greenhouse Energy Reporting (NGER) framework.
The overall aim of the EES is to incorporate energy management into Cairns Regional Council’s daily operations and decision-making, taking a positive step towards financial risk management and assisting in future-proofing Council against increasing energy costs.
