Climate Change Plan 2022-2032

Climate change refers to significant shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns over time. While climate has always varied naturally, the term these days most often refers to the rapid changes seen since the industrial era began.

This is mainly due to humans releasing more greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, largely as a result of burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas for:

• generating electricity
• transport
• manufacturing. 

The greenhouse gases we are releasing trap heat from the sun and cause Earth's temperature to rise. This might not sound like much, but even a small increase in temperature can have big effects on our weather and environment. For example, temperature increases can lead to:

• more severe weather events
• disruption animal and plant habitats
• impacts on our food and water supply.

Climate change can affect how we live, where we can grow food and even where we can live. By understanding and tackling climate change, we're looking after our home and future generations.

By mid-century, we could see a near doubling of the number of extreme heat days (above 30° C) in the City of Whittlesea compared to the 1990s. We'd have a longer fire season and more high fire danger days. We'd also see more intense downpours with less cool season rainfall.

We already committed to becoming a net zero emissions organisation through our Zero Net Emissions Plan. We'll pave the way for strong climate action across the community as we achieve our corporate emissions reduction goal over a decade ahead of the community-wide 2036 target.

We will enhance our city’s tree canopy cover to reduce the risk of extreme heat and make our open spaces cooler and safer during periods of extended heat.

We will help communities and businesses better understand and prepare for climate change impacts.

We will ensure that our built environment and infrastructure are designed, constructed and maintained to support safe and healthy communities in a changing climate.

We will collaborate with relevant partners to promote climate resilience of new precincts, growth areas and suburbs, and retrofitting of existing infrastructure and buildings.

As a leading cause of the biodiversity crisis, climate change presents as a major threat to our city’s natural environment and ecosystems.

Increasing climate resilience of our local natural environment and biodiversity also helps maintain clean air and water and improves physical and mental wellbeing.

We will continue to deliver our tree, shrub and understorey planting programs and land management actions for better conservation and biodiversity outcomes.

Read more about biodiversity

• Eliminate stationary energy emissions in our operations.
• Support the community to adopt renewable energy and improve energy efficiency.
• Promote zero emissions buildings through advocacy and partnership.

• Reduce our transport emissions.
• Provide community opportunities to adopt sustainable transport.
• Promote sustainable and active transport through advocacy and partnership.

• Support mass revegetation opportunities within the city through current and emerging offset programs. 
• Establish better understanding of carbon sequestration potential of our city by undertaking study on carbon storage potential of our blue-green infrastructure.
• Support landowners and local farmers to adopt sustainable farming practice, exploring carbon sequestration potentials and seek external funding opportunities. 
• Promote and celebrate sustainable agricultural best practice land management and use them as an education tool. 
• Partner with landowners and other government agencies to improve soil health.
• Avoid and minimise the removal of established trees, native vegetation and important habitats.

• Continue implementing the Rethinking Waste Plan. 
• Support the development of circular economy in the municipality.
• Attract suitable business types for the circular economy.
• Advocate and partner with other organisations to drive broader shift to the low waste and circular economy.
• Continue sustainable procurement of goods and services and encourage sustainable procurement for businesses and community.
• Continue using recycled and sustainable materials for our projects and services where available.

• Continue implementing actions from the Greening Whittlesea Plan to help the community adapt to a changing climate.
• Continue to support and improve community access to sustainable green open spaces.
• Manage and mitigate identified climate risks for our assets, services and operations to ensure continuous delivery of service to our community.
• Complete flood mapping for the entire municipality.
• Assist the community to reduce heat risk through prioritisation of equitable tree planting and green cover enhancement.
• Support communities and businesses to better understand and prepare for localised climate change impacts and to implement potential solutions through education, technical and financial assistance.
• Support local food security, the local agri-food sector and the visitor economy.

• Continue to implement the local environmentally sustainable design policies within the Whittlesea Planning Scheme and the development approval process.
• Continue to embed sustainable and zero emission design into Council open spaces and leisure facilities.
• Embed climate resilience across Council policies, strategies, plans, initiatives, design guidelines and technical specifications.
• Continue to implement the Sustainable Subdivision Framework.
• Partner with relevant bodies to establish and showcase climate resilient neighbourhoods.
• Retrofit existing buildings and infrastructure to increase climate resilience.
• Ensure our built environment is designed, built and/or retrofitted to support blue-green infrastructure in the long term.
• Support the community with information, education, resources, and/or funding for climate resilient home design and retrofit.
• Advocate for updated building standards to improve energy efficiency and reduce exposure to climate risks.
• Discourage new settlements in areas prone to extreme natural hazards.
• Encourage the development of climate resilient built environment and infrastructure.
• Improve drought resilience for public open spaces by providing access to alternative water supplies and construction materials.

• Continue managing and enhancing our tree canopy and green cover by improving retention, improving health and lifespan of trees and green cover and increasing community stewardship.
• Increase climate resilience, usability and adaptability of open space network.
• Increase resilience of Council’s city forest portfolio through selection of species to withstand storm events, drought and increased temperatures.
• Better understand impacts of climate change on our local species, including identifying the role of complementary ecological land uses in biodiversity and climate resilience of our local species.
• Identify and undertake management works to protect and improve the outlook of our local species against climate change across land tenures.
• Reduce and eliminate existing threats to biodiversity to improve resilience to a changing climate.
• Increase climate resilience and adaptability of our conservation areas through selection of species and genotypes.
• Encourage community contribution to building climate resilience of our local natural environment, trees and biodiversity through education and collaboration.
• Partner with landowners and other government agencies to improve soil health.