Climate Action Plan

During the June 2022 Ordinary Council Meeting, the Climate Action Plan 2022-2030(PDF, 4MB) was adopted.

The Plan provides strategic direction to 2030 through six priority areas and nineteen goals. This includes a Net Zero emissions by 2030 target for Council’s operations. The Plan also reflects the aspirations of community, particularly in terms of elevating council's leadership role in tackling climate action locally.

The priority areas are:

• Education, collaboration and mobilisation
• Built environment and transport
• Health and wellbeing
• Waste and the circular economy
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Land and water

It draws on expert advice from Ndevr Environmental, identifies priority areas and actions to be carried out in the next two years and beyond.

The Draft Plan was placed on exhibition from March 31 to April 21, with 19 submissions being made. Feedback was also received during the Public Consultation Session on April 12. This feedback has informed the final Plan.

Cr Liesbeth Long Central Goldfields Shire Council, Councillor

Cr Wayne Sproull Central Goldfields Shire Council, Councillor

Kylie Long Central Goldfields Shire Council, Community Engagement Manager

Julia Walsh Central Goldfields Shire Council, Sustainability Officer

Barry Parsons Goldfields Sustainability Group, Secretary; Goldfields Renewable Energy Group, member

Tony Macer Goldfields Renewable Energy Group, member

Bronwen Haywood Committee for Maryborough, member; Goldfields Sustainability Group, member

Adrian Masterman-Smith Mill House Neighbourhood House, Chair

Lisa Mahon Dunolly Community Garden, coordinator

Colleen Stratford Goldfields Renewable Energy Group, member

Local governments have increasing climate responsibilities and duties of care and diligence to consider climate risk in their activities, under the Victorian Climate Change Act 2017 and the Victorian Local Government Act 2020.

The science on climate change is clear and we are already experiencing changes in climate patterns locally (see Loddon Mallee Local Climate Update in attachments). The Central Goldfields Shire Council is committed to showing leadership on climate action and supporting its community to both reduce emissions and be proactive in adapting to a changing climate.

Local government has a limited scope of influence in effecting change and addressing the complex problem of climate change. To increase resources and expand the scope of influence, local and regional partnerships will be critical, as well as working closely with the community.

The Maryborough Climate Action Group approached Council to work together on climate action in April 2021, leading to the development of a group of people with a shared commitment to steward climate action across the Shire and an invitation to the broader community to be involved.

In July 2021 the Central Goldfields community was invited to join a local collaborative approach to climate action – the Climate Action Collaboration.

Expressions of interest were received from passionate residents, community groups, schools and businesses and across community, health, emergency, agriculture and environmental sectors.

We now have a growing list of 40+ local climate leaders interested in engaging in climate action together.

A series of community workshops took place from August through to November 2022. Through these workshops we gained an appreciation of what climate change means to our community, where we are on our climate action journey and what guiding principles would best support our local climate response. Ndevr Environmental supported an assessment of climate change risks and opportunities for our community and proposed potential future directions for climate goals and actions.

This work has been used to inform the development of a draft Central Goldfields Climate Action Plan, to guide Council and community in local climate action.