We’ve finished off the year by recognising the need for urgent action on climate change this decade.
At the Council meeting on 8th December 2021, Council endorsed new emissions reduction targets of:
- 75% reduction in community emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2035.
- 80 – 100% reduction in Council emissions by 2030 without carbon offsets.
The new emissions targets are in response to updated climate science and the advice regarding the extent of emissions reductions required by 2030 to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C (above pre-industrial levels), alive.
Reducing Council’s emissions further
Council’s own operational or corporate emissions are a small fraction of the municipal emissions. Nevertheless, these emissions are in our control and Council has been taking strong action to reduce our emissions for over a decade.
We have had great success so far and have reduced Council’s actual carbon emissions by 70 per cent compared to a baseline of 2011/12. This is a sector leading outcome achieved through multiple energy-efficiency projects, purchase of electric vehicles and, most significantly, a power purchase agreement to supply Council with renewable electricity.
We are pushing further with the new highly ambitious 80-100% target range’ for Council emissions. This includes moving the whole Council light vehicle fleet (cars, utes, vans, small buses) to electric and transitioning all Council buildings to all-electric.
Strong action by all levels of Government
Carbon emissions in the Moreland area are 58% electricity, 23% gas, 16% transport (petrol, diesel) and 3% waste (organics sent to landfill). To achieve our new 2030 target will require very substantive action and system change by other levels of government.
We look forward to working with our community in 2022 in collective action towards these targets and advocating to state and federal governments for the changes required to ensure a safe, fair and resilient Moreland.
