Frankston City has joined more than 130 councils across Australia in signing on to the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership.
Cr Sue Baker said: “The councils involved represent half of Australia’s residents, and this partnership allows us to share knowledge, strategies and information on ways to further reduce greenhouse gas pollution, switch to clean energy and build resilient communities.”
Meanwhile, feedback from last year’s Climate Change Community Survey will contribute to the council’s draft Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, which is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. Cr Claire Harvey said: “Council received 762 responses to the survey, plus over 50 ideas, comments and votes submitted to the Big Ideas Forum, showing a very high level of interest in this issue and that our residents want meaningful action on climate change.” Eighty per cent of survey respondents were ‘extremely concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about climate change, Cr Harvey said.
The council, which declared a climate emergency in November 2019, wrote to Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley and Victorian Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio last April calling on their governments to do the same and to legislate programs to address the emergency. It is also implementing a series of wide-ranging initiatives in response to the emergency, including:
- Replacing fluorescent streetlights with LEDs
- Allocating $125,000 for its Urban Forest Action Plan
- Reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2.1 per cent (334 tonnes) in 2019-20
- Cuttings its use of mains water by 19.4 per cent, saving 37 million litre
- Having five major council centres powered entirely from the Bald Hills Wind Farm
