Why Councils?
Step 1. Declare a Climate Emergency
Step 2. Mobilise
Step 2. Mobilise
With international agreements and national governments failing to stop – let alone reverse – global warming, councils can play a key role in leading the climate emergency response.
Business as usual or incremental change has led us into a climate crisis.
By declaring a climate emergency that includes a call for immediate and urgent action to reverse global warming, your council can add its voice to over 800 councils that have already declared a climate emergency.
Councils can also:
Actions could include cost positive programs (ie, incurs an implementation cost but is ultimately of greater financial benefit to the council) or a council committed to taking emergency action can chose to step into emergency mode and mobilisation.
Emergency mode or mobilisation is when councils allocate all discretionary funds available to the council to the task of community education, advocacy for action by higher levels governments, mitigation or resilience building and could include funding or undertaking the planning and research needed to implement full state and national emergency mobilisations. See the nuts and bolts ideas here.
Councils, even in emergency mode, cannot provide the needed solutions by themselves, hence building pressure on higher levels of government to fund and legislate for emergency action to restore a safe climate are the most critical task a council can undertake. Making a Climate Emergency Declaration is the first step.
Councils can also:
- Educate on the climate emergency using existing or low cost communication channels, while building support for a broader climate emergency mobilisation at the state, national and international levels
- Mitigation - reduce emissions and drawdown previous emissions
- Build community resilience against some global warming impacts.
- Directly lobby state and national governments to take emergency action to reverse global warming and fund the mitigation programs councils can implement.
Actions could include cost positive programs (ie, incurs an implementation cost but is ultimately of greater financial benefit to the council) or a council committed to taking emergency action can chose to step into emergency mode and mobilisation.
Emergency mode or mobilisation is when councils allocate all discretionary funds available to the council to the task of community education, advocacy for action by higher levels governments, mitigation or resilience building and could include funding or undertaking the planning and research needed to implement full state and national emergency mobilisations. See the nuts and bolts ideas here.
Councils, even in emergency mode, cannot provide the needed solutions by themselves, hence building pressure on higher levels of government to fund and legislate for emergency action to restore a safe climate are the most critical task a council can undertake. Making a Climate Emergency Declaration is the first step.
Emergencies require emergency responses
A council's key roles
Upwards
Lobbying state and national governments to adopt and fund a climate emergency response |
Sideways
Encouraging other councils to implement a climate emergency response through networks and by leading by example 
Inwards
Educating the council staff about the climate emergency and what a council can do to respond from the CEO down.
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Downwards
Local emergency action through education, mitigation and resilience building. |
Take action
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for councils
draft policies and programs for councils already willing to tackle the climate emergency |
live climate safe
make your life more climate friendly and become a lifestyle leader amongst your friends and community . |
Campaigning for a climate emergency response in your council?
Have a council in mind that might come on board?
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Have a council in mind that might come on board?
Want to keep in touch?
Help us track the campaigns around Australia to get councils to adopt a climate emergency response.
