Council alliance leads way with aim for zero carbon emissions

Melbourne Times
Wednesday 16/5/2007 Page: 12

AN ALLIANCE of central Victorian councils plans to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2020, outstripping Melbourne's local government response to climate change.

The Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance - whose 14 member councils cover about a fifth of the state - has ambitious plans to achieve carbon neutrality using wind farms to displace coal, retrofitting cars with electric motors and a move towards regional carbon trading. In metropolitan Melbourne, only Melbourne, Moreland and Maribyrnong councils currently have plans to achieve zero emissions.

CVGA founder Terry White said the goal was to make central Victoria the first region in the developed world to "successfully make the transition from climate damaging to climate friendly". "The science has firmed up, and we have 10 years to do something serious.

Councils have the capacity to lead their communities and demonstrate the feasibility of the goal," he said. Mr White said the country tradition of self-reliance had helped the CVGA work towards turning rural households into net energy producers rather than consumers, via the region's rich supply of wind energy and solar energy. Current and future wind farms had the capacity to power half of the region's homes, Mr White said.

A regional carbon trading system is being planned through biosequestering carbon in permanent conservation plantations. Metropolitan Melbourne's sole greenhouse partnership - the Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action - is researching the feasibility of carbon neutrality, but has not yet committed to an overarching goal.

In other grassroots action on climate change, the Australian and New Zealand branch of International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)-Local Governments for Sustainability project recently launched the Australasian Mayors Council on Climate Protection.

The group represents the 220 Australian councils involved in ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection initiative and is expected to be vocal in its support of nationwide action on climate change in the lead up to this year's federal election.