There are three extreme risks for the Tweed Shire Council out of 135 identified in their Climate Change Risk Assessment which was adopted at the last council meeting (22 June).
The three extreme risks centre on ‘implications for key ecosystems, saltwater contamination of Council’s fresh water supply, and loss or damage to Council’s water and wastewater infrastructure’.
Tweed Mayor, Chris Cherry, put forward and alternative motion that ‘Adopts the Tweed Shire Council Climate Change Risk Assessment’ and ‘Commences the preparation of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan’ as opposed to receiving ‘a future report about the scope and funding to complete a Climate Change Adaptation Plan’.
The Tweed Shire Council Climate Change Risk Assessment identifies a range of risks for the Tweed Shire that include increased rainfall variability in the region leading to increased wet and dry periods according to the North Coast Region from the NSW and ACT Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM).
The NARCliM modelling also anticipates an ‘increase in severe and average Forest Fire Danger and that the annual average number of days with temperatures above 35°C will increase with an additional three hot days in the near future and nine in the far future.
Climate change working group
Councillor Dr Nola Firth seconded the motion once a third point was added ‘Noting that the Council Resolution of 15 July 2021 resolved to establish a climate change working group, requests that this working group be formed as a matter of urgency’.
‘Attending the national local government assembly recently in Canberra with all of the other councils across Australia, it was very clear that climate change has a massive impact, and a massive issue for everybody,’ Cr Cherry told the meeting.
‘We’re really needing to take our adaptation plans very seriously and we need to move targets forward.
‘Commencing the preparation of the climate change adaptation plan signals to the community that we are taking this seriously. That we want to move our organisation in that direction [and] that we are doing everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint.’
Cr Firth pointed out that the climate action plan was initially for council to look internally at mitigation and risk ‘but the next step is to move out into the community’.
‘Having a Climate Change Working Group will be a catalyst for doing exactly that,’ said Cr Firth.
‘That’s why I think it’s important [and] that it needs to happen very quickly. We were addressed by somebody at the conference in Canberra and the scientific figures coming out [in relation to climate change] are very, very urgent. So we as a council need to be moving on this as fast as we can.’
The motion was carried with all in favour.
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