The final report from the Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into tackling climate change in Victorian communities was handed down in late November and included evidence presented by Merri-bek City Council. The inquiry heard from regional, rural and urban communities across Victoria and the range of fantastic actions undertaken all over the state.
You can learn more about the inquiry via this short video.
Merri-bek calls for stronger action
Council’s submission urged the Victorian Government to “increase its ambition to address the climate emergency in partnership with local governments and communities”. Some of the key measures Council called for were to:
- declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency
- set 65-75% emission reduction targets by 2030 (from 2005 baseline levels)
- increase the renewable energy target to 80-100% by 2030
- back energy market regulation changes to support community energy generation
- improve private and public housing energy efficiency standards
- phase out fossil fuel and ban new developments
- invest and fund community projects on resilience, active transport infrastructure
Supporting local leadership
The report sets out a roadmap on how the State Government can develop policy to support communities tackle climate change over the next few decades. Amongst the 72 recommendations included in the report were proposals for the State Government to work with community organisations to reach culturally and linguistically diverse communities, provide improved data and assessments on energy efficiency buildings, support community-owned energy projects, replace the old public bus fleet with electric buses and increase grants for community groups.
The report also found that Greenhouse Alliances were important in building networks across local governments. Merri-bek City Council is proud to be involved with the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA).
Continuing to walk the talk
Merri-bek City Council continues to advocate at the State and Federal level for strong action on climate change and through our climate action networks.
You can read more about how Council is reducing its emissions from its own operations here and discover ways that you can take action today.
