A 10-year “greenprint” hopes to move Logan towards becoming a greener, carbon neutral city.
A strategy was last week adopted by Logan City Council.
State Government modelling predicts Logan’s average temperature will be 1°C hotter by 2030, and 4°C hotter by 2090.
Mapping shows up to 46% of the city is within bushfire-prone areas. Drier conditions could expand that area.
“With Council owning $6.5 billion of assets, including buildings and infrastructure, we cannot ignore hazards such as bushfires, floods and storms without ratepayers bearing the brunt,” Mayor Darren Power said.
“We can avoid and minimise those risks through mitigation, adapting the way we operate and building our resilience.”
Cr Power said Logan wanted to be among the top 10 Australian councils for climate change governance.
He said the community needed to be aware of possible impacts from changes in temperature, rainfall and sea level as well as extreme weather conditions.
“It is not unreasonable to expect that a variable and changing climate could result in more frequent, and more severe, floods, droughts, heatwaves and bushfires in our city,” Cr Power said.
Deputy mayor Jon Raven said: “This strategy is our ‘greenprint’ for long-term planning and establishes Council as a leader in climate change resilience and adaptation.
“It also aligns with council’s goal of being a certified carbon neutral organisation and builds on our ongoing commitment to reduce energy use.”
There are more than 1000 kilowatts (kW) of solar photovoltaic panels now installed on Council-owned buildings.
That equates to about $140,000 per year in electricity costs and a reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 930 tonnes.
The combined power generation from the 25 systems is expected to save an estimated $140,000 a year in electricity costs and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 930 tonnes.
Despite being adopted by council last week, there would be a period early next year for public input.
