Climate Change Strategy
LONG TERM FINANCIAL PLAN 2022 - 2031
Climate change is here, and its impacts are already affecting our environment, our society and our economy. Despite global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, climate change will continue to affect life on earth in increasingly severe ways if swift and effective action is not taken: more very hot days; more frequent and longer droughts; more extreme weather and flooding events; and rising sea levels. This makes climate change a global emergency and we all have a role to play if we are to minimise the impacts. Local governments are responding due to increased recognition that the essential services and infrastructure councils provide to the community are vulnerable to a range of climate hazards. For example:
Council Operations “Council staff, infrastructure and services will be affected by climate change. Council workers may be directly exposed to the impacts of climate change, which can affect their health and safety and reduce the productivity of the organisation. Outdoor workers are at particular risk from heat stroke. Community care workers may experience increased demand for their services. Council public services may be interrupted by storm, heat, flood or fire. Council infrastructure will need increased maintenance and face more frequent failure. Councils could be liable for decisions that do not take account of widely accepted climate risk”1.
Supporting Community Health and Wellbeing “Vulnerable people in the community are at greater risk of sickness, death and significant financial and social impact from climate change. This includes those who already receive community care, the sick or disabled, indigenous, low income, socially isolated, elderly and very young, and CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) communities. Those people also with poor quality housing and limited access to cool spaces face increased vulnerability to heatwave conditions” 2.
Assets and Infrastructure Councils own and control a wide variety of infrastructure ranging from land and buildings to roads, drains, footpaths and open space that provide essential services to the community. The total value of Council’s fixed assets in 2020-21 is over $2 billion. Most of these were designed, built and maintained based on the premise that the future climatic conditions will be similar to those experienced in the past. As this is no longer the case, decisions about the location, construction and maintenance of infrastructure needs to consider the risk to this infrastructure from climate change, particularly for assets that provide critical services to the community.
“Climate Change Risks to Local Government”, produced by the State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2017 (www.climatechange.vic.gov.au). 2 “Climate Change Risks to Local Government”, produced by the State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2017 (www.climatechange.vic.gov.au). 1
LONG TERM FINANCIAL PLAN 2022 - 2031 CITY OF GREATER DANDENONG
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