2020-12-08 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  8 DECEMBER 2020


Key Action 3: The decision-making framework outlined in the Strategy will be used when
determining the appropriate approach to reduce emissions for a specific activity.
The decision-making framework is outlined below:




           Figure 3: Hierarchy of Decision Making Framework for Zero Emissions Noosa

The following actions have been undertaken in accordance with the decision making framework:
Avoid – Staff are encouraged to turn off all equipment when not in use.
Reduce – Council has been implementing energy efficiency measures such as changes to LED
lighting, upgrading air conditioning and changing pool cars to energy efficient small hybrid sedans.
Change - Council has installed over 270 Kilowatts of rooftop solar PV on Council buildings. The
reduction in electricity consumption from the grid has been significant, as discussed above.
Offset – To date, Council has focussed on reducing emissions at the source and will consider
options for dealing with residual emissions such as sequestration and offsetting in the future.
Key Action 4: A detailed Action Plan will be developed that will prioritise actions over an
initial 5-year period (and ultimately 10 years). Funding of actions will be considered as part
of the annual budget development process.
Given the changing nature of technologies and approaches to energy reduction, an initial 3 year
action plan was developed.
An audit undertaken of Council buildings and facilities identified over 40 potential projects which
Council could undertake to reduce its emissions. Council developed a Marginal Abatement Cost
Curve (MACC) to compare potential energy efficiency and carbon reductions projects and rank
them based on their economic feasibility and potential impact. The MACC is used to prioritise the
projects which will achieve the greatest emission reductions for the dollar spend. To date over 30
energy efficiency and solar projects have been implemented.
With the development of the Noosa Council Climate Change Response Plan, a further action plan
will be developed to identify the requirements for Council to achieve its net zero target by 2026

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