Zoe Moffatt
Hume council is on a pathway to be carbon neutral by 2030 following its endorsement of the draft climate action plan for 2023-28.
In a meeting on Tuesday night, June 13, council endorsed the draft plan and its release for community consultation.
Aitken Ward councillor Jodi Jackson said the plan is very important for the community and builds on councils Greenhouse Action Plan 2018-22.
“This document follows on from its predecessor, the Greenhouse Action Plan … [which] guided us very well on our target of carbon neutrality for council operations by 2030,” Cr Jackson said.
“It’s seen us invest widely in low energy lighting for our streetlights and sporting field and also the extensive rollout of solar panels on council facilities like community centres and sporting pavilions.
“This is serving our community groups very well now at a time when energy costs are sky high, it’s taking that additional pressure off.”
Cr Jackson said the climate action plan will further financially assist the community and she encouraged residents to read the plan and provide feedback.
In a report to council, officers said offsets will need to be purchased to achieve the 2030 carbon neutral target, but emissions will be avoided and reduced as much as possible to reduce reliance on offsets.
The report said the most impactful actions will be pursued where possible through a higher capital investment approach.
This more environmentally responsible approach is also the most financially responsible with savings from emission reductions more than covering projected costs to purchase offsets in 2030, the report said.
The key proposed actions across Hume include; communications campaigns, investigate a business case for resourcing a low carbon program, implement a new and sustainable transport strategy, facilitate the transition to electric vehicles, advocate for enhanced climate action to government, and continue to deliver existing sustainability programs
The key proposed actions for council operations include; the treatment of methane emissions at the Sunbury Landfill, food organics green organics service, introduction of electric vehicles, fully electric new council buildings, continuation of the energy efficiency and solar roll-out program, and alternatives to asphalt and concrete.
Council said this plan has integrated community consultation, which includes more than 1300 responses to the climate change community views survey.
