Eurobodalla Council has joined other councils around Australia in pledging to cut energy emissions as part of the Cities Power Partnership program.
An initiative of the Climate Council, the partnership brings together cities and towns around Australia that are leading the way in cutting their emissions.
The 35 participating local governments were asked to pledge five key actions to reduce their climate impact.
Council’s pledges include powering council operations by renewable energy, rolling out more energy-efficiency measures including LED streetlights and identifying waste-to-energy opportunities.
It follows the national launch of the program in July.
Council’s Sustainability Coordinator Mark Shorter said the partnership gave Eurobodalla the chance to work with like-minded councils on new ways to reduce emissions while making financial savings at the same time.
‘Council can also contribute to the partnership by sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise with the community and other councils,’ Mr Shorter said.
‘With almost 700kW of solar power already installed across more than 25 facilities we are setting a great example for the rest of Australia.’
Council’s recently-completed LED streetlight upgrade resulted in almost 2,500 LED streetlights installed on Eurobodalla residential roads.
‘This project resulted in saving about 400 tonnes of CO2 per year, which is equivalent to taking over 110 cars off the road,’ Mr Shorter said.
‘The LED upgrade is now saving Council more than $120,000 per year in reduced electricity and maintenance costs.’
Cities Power Partnership Director Alix Pearce hailed Eurobodalla as one of the first Cities Power Partnership councils to make its pledges to tackle climate change.
‘The council is taking significant steps to reduce its pollution and transition to renewable energy,’ she said.
‘Local governments are emerging as Australia’s real leaders on climate change, and Eurobodalla is a great example.’
This article first appeared in Public Now on 26 October 2017
