Eurobodalla Shire Council is set to endorse its Climate Action Plan at its next meeting on Tues 26 July.
‘Congratulations to Council and staff on bringing this Climate Action Plan to reality,’ says Jack Egan, coordinator of local climate action group 350 Eurobodalla.
‘However, our Council should go one step further and declare a climate emergency,’ Egan adds.
‘It’s high time Council joins 104 other councils around Australia and over 2000 around the world and declares that we’re all in a climate emergency.
‘A climate emergency declaration tells everybody why the Council’s Climate Action Plan is important and why this Council is taking fair dinkum action and not kicking the can down the road,’ Egan says.
‘Although we might want to wish climate worsening away, record-smashing floods in NSW and heatwaves in Europe tell us it’s only getting worse everywhere.
‘A fortnight ago our Prime Minister signed Australia on to the Pacific Forum’s climate emergency declaration.
‘Last week Prince Charles, the next leader of the Commonwealth, said the world is in a climate emergency as Europe sweltered and burnt.
‘So, let’s call a spade a spade. We are in a climate emergency,’ Egan emphasises.
‘Now, a lot of residents might rightly ask what declaring a climate emergency means?’ Egan predicts.
‘What it doesn’t mean is that we’re hitting the panic button, running around in confusion throwing money ineffectually at the problem.
‘No, a declaration is a sober facing up to reality and a driver of action.
‘Any emergency requires timely planning and then action to implement the plan before the emergency turns into a catastrophe.
‘A climate emergency declaration says we have a big and urgent problem that can’t be put off. The Climate Action Plan shows how we’ll tackle it as a community,’ Jack Egan says.
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