City of Newcastle recognises climate emergency

City of Newcastle recognised in a council resolution of 28 May 2019 that there is a global climate emergency and urgent need for real action on climate change.

It reaffirmed a commitment to a just economic transition for coal mining communities, including support for investment in hydrogen as an export energy, construction of large-scale renewables and pumped hydro, and manufacturing of electric vehicles.

Environmental activists are encouraged by the City to consider the broader impact of their actions, and work towards consensus across the political spectrum, under the same resolution of Council.

More than 1,180 jurisdictions and local governments in 23 countries have also declared a climate emergency, according to the International Climate Emergency Forum (ICEF).

As part of the City’s actions, 100 per cent of our electricity will come from renewable sources from January 1 2020, when we will become the first local government in NSW to do so.

The Climate Emergency Declaration campaign in Australia is backed by more than 50 climate action groups, including the ICEF and Greenpeace Australia.

Taking further action, we’re improving the energy efficiency of our buildings, replacing our street lights with energy-saving LEDS and finishing construction on a five-megawatt solar farm on a former landfill site after securing a $6.5 million loan from Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation in 2018.

As our single largest investment in a renewable project, it follows eight other solar installations at our Waratah Works Depot, Art Gallery,City, Wallsend and New Lambton libraries, No.1 and No.2 Sportsgrounds and Newcastle Museum.

The solar farm at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre builds on one of Australia's most advanced renewable energy setups at a waste facility - with a 2.2megawatt landfill gas generator and a small wind turbine also located onsite.