Climate Emergencies Swell to over 100 councils across Australia and New Zealand

Over 100 local governments in Australia and New Zealand have now declared a climate emergency according to the latest data from Cedamia. The number has risen sharply since the first climate emergency declaration by Darebin City Council in 2016.

Kingston Council in Australia and Ōpōtiki District Council in New Zealand are the latest to make the declaration, adding another 168,000 people represented by the global movement.

“Despite being a global issue, climate change impacts are felt locally,” said Bernie Cotter, Managing Director ICLEI Oceania - Local governments for sustainability. 

“So it is unsurprising that more local governments on the frontline of climate change are responding to communities’ climate concerns, not least those in bushfire affected areas or those witnessing the effects of global warming,” said Mr Cotter.

ICLEI Oceania is the regional secretariat for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, the world’s largest alliance of over 10,000 cities and local governments committed to accelerating local climate action.

“We’re seeing a wave of local governments now developing their own climate action plans,” said Mr Cotter. “The City of Yarra in Victoria, for example, hosted a public consultation last night for their draft climate emergency action plan.”

“We understand that not all communities are ready to declare a climate emergency,” said Mr Cotter. “What’s more significant is that calls for declarations and new climate approaches are reaching council chambers worldwide, clearly demonstrating that concerns about climate action are growing in all communities.”

With over 100 councils now in a state of climate emergency across Australia and New Zealand, the influence of local governments is hard to ignore. Globally, over 1,300 local governments have declared a climate emergency.

Contact

Mr Bernie Cotter, ICLEI Oceania

bernie.cotter@iclei.org  / 0431 265 860

www.icleioceania.org / www.gcom-oceania.org