OUR JOURNEY towards a prosperous low carbon future has taken a big step after the Parkes Shire Council recently hosted a Activating the Low Carbon Economy in Regional Australia forum, with over 150 attendees joining online.
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Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM, was pleased the council could be involved in the fantastic initiative.
"We were delighted to be able to proceed with an online delivery of the Activating the Low Carbon Economy in Regional Australia Forum," he said.
"Whilst we would have loved to host the exceptional speakers and delegates face to face and gotten the opportunity to show them what Parkes has to offer, the COVID-19 restrictions in place meant that it wasn't to be."
Over 20 esteemed speakers and more than 150 delegates joined in for the full day forum, which included presentations from The Hon. Matthew Kean, NSW Minister for Energy & Environment, professors from the Australian National University, University of Sydney and University of NSW and the CSIRO, to name a few.
Parkes Shire Councillor Neil Westcott was a big driver of participating in the forum, and said he was very pleased with what came out of it.
"The purpose of the forum was to build a platform for knowledge sharing and innovation...and there were many fantastic ideas shared that could be relevant to not only Parkes and regional NSW, but all of regional Australia," he said.
"The key drivers for the day were urgency, empathy and opportunity.
"It is a very unique time in our history...however it is a fantastic opportunity to make better use of the resources we have available, and to set a mode of operation built around the circular economy," said Cr Westcott.
Beyond the forum, Cr Westcott said the council plans to develop a white paper that will guide future projects, embrace new industries, create local employment in the Parkes Special Activation Precinct and accelerate the shire's transition to a prosperous low carbon future.
"Council is committed to support the development of a low carbon economy in Regional NSW and is excited by the opportunities arising for local businesses and our regional community from the Special Activation Precinct.
Collaboration is key - we need to collaborate and connect between public and private as well as between industries to address the big picture of a low carbon economy," added Cr Westcott.
Topics covered
- Role and impact of renewable energy in the regions
- Nature and benefits of a circular economy and what this means for business and government
- Importance of a low carbon economy to regional and rural Australia
- How all of these will combine to embrace new industries and create local employment in Parkes
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