Action on local effects of climate change to be shared nationally

Council noted actions from the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and upcoming participation in a new national climate change initiative for local government.

The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy was developed by the City of Greater Geelong to take into account and plan for the risks of climate change. Council adopted the Strategy in 2011.

“We’ve been a leader among local governments in the area of climate change action”, said Environment and Sustainability Portfolio Councillor Andy Richards.

“Several years ago we recognised that the cost of doing nothing or delaying action would result in higher costs further down the track”.

“Key to future planning is developing systems so that climate risk becomes part of business-as-usual operations,” said Cr Richards.

“We’ve put in significant work in partnership with RMIT and NetBalance Foundation to develop the first comprehensive Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit which has been received positively by the local government sector.”

“As a result of this ground breaking work we have been invited by the Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government to partner with a select group of Australian councils to create a practical manual to guide councils through the challenges of climate change.”

“Knowledge sharing is going to be vitally important for meeting climate changechallenges that confront councils due to extreme weather events, rising sea levels and temperatures”, said Cr Richards.

The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy sets out actions in the following priority areas: coastal planning, asset management, emergency management, vulnerable people, open space, biodiversity and community engagement.

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