Parkes Shire Council is one of 35 local councils who, on Wednesday, will officially be taking a national pledge to tackle rising emissions and worsening climate change.
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Parkes has signed on to take the next steps towards a sustainable future as part of the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership (CPP) program.
The Climate Council – Australia’s new and independent climate council – is preparing to launch the new landmark initiative at the Mount Majura Solar Farmand in Canberra.
The Climate Council has encouraged councils across Australia to take a pledge to play a major role in tackling climate change at a local level.
More than 35 councils have already pledged to join the national CPP program ahead of Wednesday’s launch, including Parkes Shire Council.
We're excited to collaborate with other regional and metropolitan councils as part of the Cities Power Partnership.
- Parkes Mayor Ken Keith
Parkes Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM, will travel to Canberra on Wednesday to attend the national launch of the CPP.
“Parkes Shire Council strives to be a leader in sustainability by developing initiatives and implementing measures into our operations that aim to reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the environment,” Cr Keith said.
“We're excited to collaborate with other regional and metropolitan councils as part of the Cities Power Partnership, to share resources and ideas about how we can accelerate emission reduction and become a greener, more efficient and resilient community.
"We hope to learn from high achieving towns in the areas of renewable energy, efficiency, transport and advocacy, and share our successes from a regional perspective.”
The launch will see the presence of Climate Council members, ACT Environment Minister Shane Rattenbury, and dozens of mayors and council representatives.
In 2011, Parkes Shire Council developed a Distributed Energy Plan to mitigate both potential climate change impacts and significant rises in power costs for council.
In the early phase of the plan, council installed over 200 kW of PV (Solar) across its assets, immediately making significant impacts on power consumption and energy costs for council.
By joining the CPP, Parkes Shire Council hopes to learn from leaders in the renewable energy area and share their clean energy successes for the primary purpose of building a more efficient and sustainable Australia.