Image: Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash

Background

In January 2020, Council declared a climate and ecological emergency and in July 2021 adopted the Climate and Ecological Emergency Response Plan (CEERP) which established a net zero by 2025 goal for Council operations, and net zero by 2030 goal for the Kingston community. These are science-derived targets which represent the urgency with which emissions must be reduced - to limit global warming to below 1.5°, and to do our fair share.

Reporting

Since this time, there has been growing awareness amongst staff and ongoing leadership support for achieving our Net Zero goals. At the same time, policies at state and federal levels have flagged structural change for renewable energy, electrification and low emission vehicles which supports our aims.

Council requires institutional change stemming from state and federal governments to make large-scale changes in the community. Ongoing advocacy to these levels of government is therefore an ongoing priority.

Every 6 months Councillors are provided with an update on progress implementing the CEERP and issues encountered. This update is also provided to Council’s Audit and Risk Committee.