Lighter Footprints Local Government Working Group
Response to Community Consultation on Climate Action Plan
The Local Government Working Group is pleased to be able to provide feedback to Boroondara Council on the progress of the implementation of the Climate Action Plan.
After consideration of the questions posed and the requests for suggestions on what to do next on Climate Action we would like Council to prioritise budget allocation, communication and reporting and focus on supporting reduction of community emissions.
Prioritising energy efficiency and the use of renewables, supporting reduced emissions from transport use and maintaining/expanding the tree canopy and preserving the biodiversity of Boroondara are the areas we consider crucial for the next stage of the CAP.
1. Reporting on the CAP
There is a need for timely and complete public reporting of Council’s performance against the targets and supporting measures of the Climate Action Plan, both for Council emissions and Community emissions.
The Climate Action Plan 2021-2031 includes six emissions targets and thirteen supporting measures across Council operations and the Boroondara community.
These targets and measures establish the specific quantified metrics for Council’s ongoing performance in delivery of the CAP. To date, performance reporting against these targets and measures is difficult to interpret and is inconsistent in its completeness and timeliness.
The CAP Hub reports progress on the CAP targets and measures, but identifies them only as ‘Indicators’. The Indicators page is marked as “under development” and states that “data may be for test purposes only”. While the CAP has been in implementation since 2021, some indicator results are blank and some others have not been updated since 2023.
None of the indicators referred to in the CAP as ‘supporting measures’ are reported in terms of their contribution to the targets which they support! For example, what is the contribution to the “90% Council actual emissions reduction by 2030” target from its supporting measure “50% reduction in the number of Council buildings using gas”. A common metric is needed to establish this – typically tonnes of carbon emissions. Council’s current reporting framework does not include any quantification of tonnes of carbon emissions reduced or avoided, nor baseline emissions profile on which to establish the scale of individual or overall progress. CAP performance needs to be consistent with the Local Government Act Community Engagement Principles and Public Transparency Principles.
Council should publish performance data on its progress delivering the CAP’s targets and measures. Under the Act, publicly available information is essential to Council meeting its accountability requirements for delivery of the CAP.
RECOMMENDATION
Boroondara residents require transparent, timely and quality-assured reporting of the Council’s progress in delivering the Climate Action Plan.
2. Community engagement and communication
It is encouraging to see Council developing CAP community engagement opportunities, however given the scale, urgency, complexity and cost of reducing community emissions, there needs to be a significant uplift by Boroondara Council in its communications to the community regarding emissions reduction.
The community needs to be able to see and hear regular, clearly articulated reports on the implementation of the CAP as well as being able to access practical, supported measures to address personal emissions reduction. In order for this to happen, up to date data on community emissions should be easily accessible.
Outdated, unpublished or absent strategies/plans/policies hamper effective community emissions reduction. We suggest prioritising, updating and/or implementing the following
- Integrated Transport Strategy 2006
- Climate Action Plan community engagement/education plan not yet published
- Public Transport Strategy absent
- EV Charging Strategy absent
RECOMMENDATION
Boroondara Council needs to prioritise clear, consistent , highly visible communications throughout the community – online, onsite at all community centres, libraries and community hubs, on council vehicles – regarding progress on reducing emissions and ways for all members of Boroondara community to be actively involved. Support for community emissions reduction should be highly visible and in community languages.
3. Budget
For accountability and transparency with regard to the implementation of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) the Budget allocation needs to be both increased and programs under the CAP identified as specific reporting lines in the annual budget.
Currently there is an annual allocation of $1 million to implement the Climate Action Plan (the same as new library books). To put this $1 million in perspective, Boroondara Council is forecast to spend $356 million this coming year ($268 million operating costs and $88 million capital costs, with a surplus of $13 million).
The CAP should specify how the allocated budget is to be spent (including administrative costs), both on projects that have been approved and expenditure contingent on further approvals.
The CAP requires a substantial increase in staff for Climate Action Plan implementation.
RECOMMENDATION
Council adequately AND transparently resource the Climate Action Plan to support emissions reductions
Prioritising the themes of the CAP
It is the opinion of the Lighter Footprints Local Government Working Group that the following themes should receive priority attention in CAP – we have identified some examples of how the priorities may be addressed. There are many others.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy
The CAP can support reduced emissions through prioritising/developing:
- A highly visible and proactive free advice service for residents on emissions reduction and energy efficiency.
- A new program to support businesses in reducing their emissions including engaging with large emitters.
- The creation of a permanent demonstration centre to support Council community education on reducing household emissions and unwanted energy gain/loss, accompanied by a series of Pop-up information stalls on energy efficiency, gas substitution and electrification.
- Home retrofitting advice given by architects (voluntary).
- Support for low income households to improve energy efficiency and/or install solar and batteries, either via a rates pay back scheme or direct subsidies.
Transport
Transport emissions account for 20% of community emissions. Significant inroads to reducing community transport emissions can be made through:
- Initiating a review and update of Council’s 2006 integrated transport strategy.
- Further development of the Boroondara Bicycle Strategy especially increasing cycling infrastructure investment
- Increasing support for alternatives to private vehicle transport
- Expanding accessible public EV charging infrastructure.
Biodiversity and Trees
Preservation of canopy cover and biodiversity is an important element in addressing the consequences of climate change.
In order to preserve canopy cover and biodiversity Council should:
- Reduce land use and development impacts on biodiversity by requiring proponents to include an assessment of impact on biodiversity in each application for demolition, construction, tree removal, or other change in land use.
- Expedite review of the tree canopy target, including development of a program to achieve a more ambitious target of 30% by 2035.
- Require any land-use development approval to require:
- retention of a set-back from each boundary (if any exists) sufficient to plant and sustain trees the canopy of which will grow to a diameter of not less than 4 metres,
- the planting of trees approved by Council’s Landscape Compliance Officer.
The themes which should receive less attention in CAP but nevertheless still important for Boroondara
Water and waterways
Circular economy (waste)**
**Pursuing Circular Economy principles will contribute enormously to responsible waste management and minimising resource use in Boroondara, however the contribution of this theme to community emissions reduction, while important, is inherently difficult to measure. Therefore, we suggest the Circular Economy theme remains as part of the specialised ‘Waste Minimisation and Recycling Strategy’ and is not a top priority for the CAP.
At the half way point of the implementation of the Climate Action Plan it is important for Council and community to work together to build on what has already been achieved and for Council to now lead not only in mitigating the impact of climate change but also in increasing community resilience to its consequences.