Posts filed under ‘Moreland Council’
Moreland Council adopts transformative transport strategy
Moreland Mayor Cr Abboud
Moreland Mayor Cr Natalie Abboud walks the talk on mode share shift to sustainable transport.
To conclude the debate on Moreland Council’s transformative Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy (MITS) Cr Abboud told her own personal journey which outlined her fears and her new found freedom in her Mayoral e-bike that she uses to move about Moreland fulfilling her duties as Mayor.
Her speech came after 2 hours of debate in the Council chamber on the strategy and 18 amendments that were proposed for the Council motion. Most amendments were debated: some were lost, some were passed and incorporated into the final motion. The Strategy was passed with 10 votes in Favour and one abstention.
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Wind to power Moreland Council’s electricity
Turbine blades for MREP Crowlands Wind Farm
Moreland Council is one of 14 organisations who have added their purchasing power together to support the development of a new wind farm to supply renewable energy for these organisations.
The 80MW Crowlands wind farm near Ararat, which will be owned and operated by energy company Pacific Hydro, will feature 39 turbines.
The consortium won the 2018 Premier’s sustainability award in the Government category. The Cooling Communities project was also listed as a finalist in the Environmental Justice category. Winners were announced on Thursday 11 October 2018 in Melbourne.
High Speed Rail advocacy from Moreland Council over aviation emissions growth
High speed rail in Taiwan Via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
High speed rail is being placed back on the political agenda by Moreland Council arising from the problem of growth in aviation emissions as embedded within Melbourne Airport expansion plans, and the necessity to find alternatives to aviation emissions.
Moreland Council passed a resolution at the October Council meeting to advocate “to State and Federal Governments by writing to the Ministers for Planning, Transport and Environment as well as local Members of State and Federal parliament, that investment should be focused on the establishment of a Very Fast Train to connect Australia’s cities instead of expanding the privately-owned airports.”
The Melbourne-Sydney flight route is the second busiest domestic flight route globally.(Note 1) A high speed train service could provide a 3 hour Melbourne CBD to Sydney CBD service as a cost effective and low emissions alternative to flying.
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Cooling the Upfield Corridor – Moreland Council adopts plan mitigating Urban heat
Cooling the Upfield Corridor UHIE heatmap
Moreland Council has adopted the Cooling the Upfield Corridor Action Plan 2018-2019.
It is not nearly enough to cut emissions and have a zero community emissions by 2040 target, we also need to look at climate adaptation in our highly built up urban environment. This too is part of a climate emergency response framework.
The urban heat island effect amplifies temperatures due to the urban built infrastructure and surfaces such as roads and carparks. Our Municipality is especially vulnerable to the urban heat island effect.
In coming decades Melbourne is likely to experience 50 degrees days according to researchers at the ANU, even if we limit global temperatures to 2 degrees or the much more ambituous 1.5 degrees target.
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Transport Policy in Moreland for the Climate Emergency
Upfield path at Brunswick station
Climate Emergency
The Paris Climate Agreement aspirational target limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is starting to look unachievable. Even meeting the hard target of 2 degrees, which will still result in huge damage (e.g. probable loss of the Great Barrier Reef), will require governments everywhere to lift their game.
We are pleased to hear that Moreland Council acknowledged we are in a state of climate emergency at the Council meeting on 12 September 2018.
We note Moreland Council’s community emissions reduction policies and targets for 2020 and 2040. Transport is one of the largest sources of greenhouse emissions, amounting to 25.8 per cent of emissions in Moreland in 2013-14. Governments at all levels need to lift their game.
Greenhouse Emissions from Transport
Transport is one of the largest sources of greenhouse emissions, amounting to 19 per cent Australia wide, and 25.8 per cent of emissions in Moreland in 2013-14. Here too, governments at all levels need to lift their game.
Major Change in Priorities for Transport Infrastructure
At the state level we think a major shift is needed in Transport infrastructure funding. In 2018 Roads funding was 69.1 per cent, Public Transport 30.5 per cent and Active Transport just 0.36 per cent. There needs to be a major priority change in this area to meet climate targets.
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Moreland sets zero net community emissions 2040 target
Moreland 2040 Framework
As well as acknowledging we are in a state of climate emergency at the Moreland Council meeting on 12 September 2018, there were several other significant policies and resolutions from Council. The most important was setting a long term target of zero net community emissions by 2040.
As well as the long term target and putting in place a framework and five year activity plans to achieve the target, Council’s 2014 Zero Carbon Evolution Strategy with a target of 22 per cent reduction in community emissions by 2020 from a 2011 base, was also revisited. Some areas of this strategy were not performing up to the targets set, so assessments were done of what was working well, and areas that needed to be closely addressed to rejig the plan to keep it on track.
Media Release: Moreland Council adopts Climate Emergency
Moreland resident and Climate Angel Bronwyn Plarre with a Climate Emergency sign
Media Release
Moreland Council adopts climate emergency
At the City of Moreland Council Meeting on 12th September, Councillors unanimously adopted a resolution acknowledging that “we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, including local Councils.”
Convenor of Climate Action Moreland John Englart said “This is a landmark decision by Moreland Council that takes account of the need for rapid action and leadership on climate change”
“While leadership has been sorely lacking by the Federal Government for the last 5 years, we are pleased that our local government is filling the void on a local level and is following our neighbours in Darebin in adopting a climate emergency framework.” he said
