Warrnambool City Council has been invited to be part of an international virtual discussion featuring cities that are making a big impact on reducing carbon emissions.
Warrnambool will feature in a program called Small Cities – Big Impact hosted from COP26 in Glasgow by Swedish not-for-profit climate action organisation, We Don’t Have Time.
The segment featuring Warrnambool is called Transforming Cities and will also include representatives from the Swedish cities of Mariestad and Vaxjo and the Mexican city of Guadalajara.
Warrnambool Mayor Cr Richard Ziegeler said taking part in the discussion was a great way to showcase the efforts being made in Warrnambool and to see what actions other cities were taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’ve seen a far greater interest this year in the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26,” Warrnambool Mayor Cr Richard Ziegeler said.
“There’s a growing sense of urgency about the need to take action to limit the rise of global temperatures in coming years.
“Our participation in the conference is an opportunity to share the objectives contained in our long-term community plan Warrnambool 2040 and in Council’s own Green Plan,” Cr Ziegeler said.
“As a Council we are aiming for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2026 and our community wants the entire city to have net zero emissions by 2040.
“Among the initiatives we will share at the conference are our low energy street lighting, the photovoltaic installations on Council buildings, the renewable energy purchasing agreement with 45 other councils and our relationship with Deakin University.”
Council Chief Executive Officer Peter Schneider said the involvement with Mariestad at the conference continued the spirit of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two municipalities in 2019.
“The MoU was a commitment between the two cities to share information and ideas about renewable energy with a view to cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr Schneider said.
“Since then we’ve seen the Federal Government’s $20 million commitment to fund Deakin’s Hycel research facility and we’ve stepped up our investment in photovoltaics.
“I’m proud of the achievements of our Sustainability Unit and we are on track to meet our 2026 and 2040 goals.”
For those interested in watching the discussion, which will feature Council’s Sustainability Officer Juan Donis, the livestream starts at 7.15am, Tuesday, November 9, at www.wedonthavetime.org/events/cities
