The Southern Tasmanian Councils Climate Collaboration scales, and brings consistency to, council action that supports local responses to create thriving and resilient communities.
Regardless of global efforts to reduce emissions to 1.5 degrees, warming of at least 2C is inevitable. This requires climate responses locally, regionally and state-wide to both reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to emerging and novel climates. However the highly changeable policy landscape has created a barrier to local government climate action.
Local government has the biggest role to play in responding. Climate impacts affect a council’s responsibilities for critical assets, infrastructure and essential services, such as development planning, emergency management and environmental health; it provides to its local communities.
It is estimated that the costs of climate hazards, in Australia, will rise to at least $73 billion by 2060, this will impact on council resources, assets and local communities. This project directly supports councils to be understand the consequences of these impacts and develop local solutions and responses
What the Project does?
- Draws on over 20 years of climate action, experience and knowledge by southern councils and over a decade by the STCA’s climate program
- Builds councils climate literacy and capacity, enabling evidence based and informed actions and responses with their communities
- Works with councils through a common approach to find local solutions that suit their strategic and operational functions and community needs
- Puts councils in the climate driving seat to develop evidence based climate responses based on local government core roles and responsibilities, with effort focused on their greatest strengths.
- Recasts climate action as a corporate economic and liability issue, rather than an environmental and green issue.
About the project?
The project uses high quality data developed specific for local government needs. The STCA has:
- worked with UTAS Climate Futures Tasmania team to understand the climate impacts at a municipal scale and identify climate indices used in day-to-day decision making
- developed highly accurate community emission profiles – it is the only local government organisation to enter into data sharing agreements with Australian Governments Clean Energy Regulator which is responsible for monitoring Australia’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
It directly supports Councils to understand their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and identify savings. It is scales the City of Hobart program that saved over $1 million per annum on their energy bills.
Climate mitigation and adaptation officers are working directly with councils to understand their carbon footprints and corporate exposure to climate impacts and risks, and how to increase their climate governance and mitigate liability.
What the Project will do?
The Project runs from Nov 2021 to June 2023
The Project support and work directly with councils to develop:
- Council Carbon and Energy Footprints and Action Plans, and support their implementation.
- Council climate risk assessments and Adaptation Plans and support their implementation.
- Engagement with Councillors and communities to identify climate risk and understand local values, awareness and preparedness, and a climate summit.
- Regional Local Government Climate Strategy, which scales actions and supports collaboration
- Reporting process and measurement systems for the implementation, revision and updating of CCAPs by the local government sector.