2021-08-10 P&E Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 1 - Climate Change Response Plan

                                                            Noosa Climate Change Response Plan




Theme 1:
Strong leadership and governance
Why this is important
Responding to the climate emergency is a collective effort across all sectors of the community.
Council has a unique role to lead by example for the community, other councils and levels
of government. By showing powerful leadership and governance, Council can inspire and
support others to integrate climate emergency responses into their daily activities and longer-
term plans. This means moving from community engagement and education to mobilisation of
the broader community, as well as stronger, political and strategic advocacy.
Council has engaged the community through education campaigns around solar power and
energy efficiency and working with community groups such as Zero Emissions Noosa Inc
(ZEN Inc). This is important and ongoing work. However, Council is broadening its reach and
influence to drive collective action, not just individual action.


How we’ll achieve this
Through this Climate Change Response Plan, Council will assess local climate risks, help
coordinate responses for the Council and local community, and monitor change and progress
over time. Embedding consideration of climate change within all Council departments,
including procurement processes, key policy documents and decisions, including the
corporate plan and staff performance plans is an ongoing priority.
Council will continue to advocate for climate action and strengthen partnership opportunities.
This includes advocacy with other local governments through Climate Emergency Australia to
provide a collective voice for strong action on climate change. An advocacy and community
mobilisation plan will be prepared to establish positions on a range of state and federal issues
and to help support local community groups to develop their own climate advocacy programs
for promoting positive climate action across the different sectors of the Sunshine Coast.
A climate change community reference group will be established to guide and provide advice
on the implementation of the Climate Change Response Plan. As part of this, Council will
continue to collaborate with local community groups and business associations through the
existing Zero Emissions Noosa Memorandum of Understanding.
Strengthening regional partnerships and collaborating across neighbouring councils to identify
and respond to common climate risks and to build a low carbon economy will also bring
important regional benefits.




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