Climate change
Responding to climate change
“The climate in New South Wales is already changing, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and intense, as well as long-term changes to weather patterns evolving. These changes can exacerbate existing risks and create new systemic risks and opportunities for government.” – Climate Risk Ready NSW Guide, NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment.
The impacts of climate change need to be addressed to ensure that the local community is resilient, guaranteeing long-term liveability.
Council is committed to tackling climate change within our City.
- 2022: Council is updating our climate risk assessment and developing a resilience framework.
- 2021: Council adopted an Emissions Reduction Action Plan which addresses climate mitigation for Council operations and our community. Council voted to phase out gas in Council operations.
- 2019: Council declared a ‘climate emergency’ through a Council resolution. Council has been acting on climate change for a number of years now.
- Council is a member of Resilient Sydney, which is a member of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative — pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. 100 Resilient Cities help cities around the world become more resilient to physical, social and economic challenges and we were part of developing a roadmap to resilience for Sydney.
Key points
- Climate change is the long-term change in climate patterns at the global and regional scale.
- Present day climate change is largely driven by increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which increases the greenhouse effect.
- Increases in the greenhouse effect result in the earth becoming warmer – sometimes called global warming.
- Current climate change is accelerated by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, which produces greenhouse gases.
- There are many effects of climate change, including more intense extreme weather events, sea level rise and changing rainfall patterns.
What are the impacts of climate change?
Our warming climate has many impacts on people, environments and industries. Some of these impacts include:
- Sea level rise
- Greater bushfire danger
- More heatwaves and other extreme events
- Impacts on the economy
- Changing rainfall patterns, and more floods and droughts.
See Impacts of Climate Change for more information about how climate affects us.
Source: Basics of climate change, Adapt NSW (NSW Government)
Find out more at NSW Government's Adapt NSW website.
As many of us are aware, the climate in Australia is changing, this brings challenges for the City of Canada Bay.
It is likely the City will experience hotter and drier summers, milder winters, more rainfall, an increased risk of flooding, a rise in sea levels and more extreme weather events including strong winds, lightning, hail storms and heat waves.
To reduce our vulnerability to climate change, the City of Canada Bay is anticipating potential climate issues and putting measures and actions in place to respond to these.
Action on climate change can be separated into two categories: mitigation and adaptation.
Mitigation
Mitigation refers to activities that aim to reduce climate change or the rate of change. Examples of mitigation include driving less and using less fossil fuels.
Adaptation
Adaptation refers to activities that aim to reduce the potential negative impacts of climate change, and capitalise on any new opportunities. Examples include planning for sea level rise and providing heat relief centres.
Climate Adaptation Plan
The City of Canada Bay is planning for the effects of climate change through preparation of a Climate Adaptation Plan. The Plan was developed through participation in the Adaptive and Resilient Communities (ARC) Program, a national capacity-building program run by International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
The Climate Adaptation Plan and Implementation Plan will provide a framework for Council to incorporate climate risks into plans for the future and will increase the awareness of climate change and potential impacts with our community.
Council is committed to providing a green, healthy and liveable City for our community with a focus on sustainability and climate change. Council will report to our community on the progress of the Climate Adaptation Action and Implementation Plan and provide opportunities for discussion through climate change conversations with our community.
Climate change is already affecting the Metropolitan Sydney region, particularly through increased temperatures and more extreme weather events. The impacts of these changes can be seen through the widespread bushfires of 2019–2020, increased coastal erosion and severe flood events.
Climate projections for Metropolitan Sydney, Adapt NSW
