In 2019, our Council declared a Climate Emergency. This demonstrates early alignment with recent comments by UN Executive Secretary of Climate Change stating that “…Clearly we are in a climate emergency. Clearly we need to address it”. The Secretary went on to say that the world is on track for a global temperature rise of 2.7oC, which is far more than the agreed 1.5oC Paris goal.
COP26, otherwise known as the United Nations Climate Summit, is on this week and brings together the world’s leaders to set out new commitments for curbing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of our warming planet.
The Northern Beaches is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards such as coastal erosion, storms, flooding, landslip and bush fires. As the climate changes, heat waves, severe bushfire conditions, storm surges, sea-level rise, heavy rainfall and flooding are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Annual Climate Statement 2020 says nine of the 10 hottest years on record in Australia have occurred since 2005. Adapt NSW states that we can expect to experience heat waves more often and will last longer than they currently do (up to 3.5 days longer), putting additional pressure on the environment, our resources, and the community, especially those vulnerable to excessive heat.
Council is leading the charge and we invite the community to join us on the net-zero journey. Help reduce our collective carbon emissions and resource consumption by learning more about climate change.
Together let’s focus on:
In response to increasingly concerning climate change reports and urgency to take mitigative action, Council adopted commitments and aspirations in our Protect. Create. Live. Environment and Climate Change Strategy 2040.
Our key aspiration, and where you can help, is to achieve community-wide net zero emissions by 2030.
Our commitments include:
- Ensuring solar panels are installed on 50% of suitable premises by 2030
- Maintaining or reduce overall drinking water use in our community by 2040
- Diverting 85% of waste from landfill by 2040
- Reducing the rate of waste generation per person by 2040.
Together we can work towards a net-zero emissions future and play our part in living a sustainable life so future generations can continue to enjoy the beautiful Northern Beaches.