The Blue Mountains Greens has launched its Local Climate Action Plan at a virtual event with Greens MP Jenny Leong, Councillor Brent Hoare, and candidates, Sarah Redshaw and Kingsley Liu.
The Blue Mountains Greens Local Climate Action Plan is made up of 65 proposed actions that Greens Councillors will pursue if elected at the Blue Mountains City Council election on 4 December 2021.
Actions committed to in the plan, include:
- fast-tracking plans to install solar panels and batteries on buildings owned by Council, residents and local businesses, solar hot water or heat pumps, and solar and LED lighting for public buildings, car parks and street lighting
- transitioning council’s vehicle fleet, including waste collection, recycling and street cleaning trucks to become 100% renewable and zero-emissions
- working with the NSW government to develop a strategy to move freight from roads to rail
- supporting or providing user-friendly public transport, including a regular, electric bus service between Glenbrook and Mount Victoria and other village-based electric vehicle shuttle services, to reduce car travel
- increasing the tree canopy across the Blue Mountains, including by lining residential streets with trees, and
- banning single-use plastics on council land and in the wider community.
Blue Mountains Greens Ward 2 Councillor, Brent Hoare, said:
“Over many years, Greens Councillors have been instrumental in ensuring that Blue Mountains City Council is taking serious action on climate change that is guided by science. In the last term, I helped declare a climate emergency, joined Council to the Cities Power Partnership, and incorporated the Rights of Nature into future operations and planning.
“The 2019-20 bushfires will always be a reminder to our community about why we must take action on climate change now. Unless global warming is reined in it is certain we will experience more loss and damage from extreme weather events. The impacts are damaging and they affect our health and wellbeing. The cost in dollar terms is high and rising. We must, and Blue Mountains Greens Councillors will, act now”.
Blue Mountains Greens Ward 1 candidate, Sarah Redshaw, said:
“The State and Federal Liberal governments, and indeed the Labor Oppositions, are failing us all on climate change. As always, they are putting politics and their corporate interests before our environment and our communities. While Labor, Liberal and Coalition governments do nothing in Canberra or Macquarie Street, Blue Mountains Greens Councillors will be taking action locally.
“Not only will Blue Mountains Greens Councillors ensure that Blue Mountains City Council will hit its target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2025, we will fast-track existing policies and implement new ones, to minimise the reliance on carbon offsets to do so”.
Blue Mountains Greens Ward 3 candidate, Kingsley Liu, said:
“The Blue Mountains Greens is listening to the myriad of warnings from experts around the world – not the least, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which found that emissions were already affecting weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. These calls are begging the world to act. The Blue Mountains Greens Local Climate Action Plan is our ambitious answer to these calls”.
Jenny Leong MP said:
“The Greens are committed to acting locally to address global challenges – and we know that Greens Councillors across Australia have been prioritising climate action. The Blue Mountains Greens Local Climate Change Action Plan is ambitious and absolutely needed – and our Greens team are committed to making it a priority, right here in the Blue Mountains”.
Read the plan here:
