Noosa Council declares climate emergency

Noosa Council will become the first in Queensland to declare a climate emergency.

According to Mayor Tony Wellington, coastal communities like Noosa on the northern end of the Sunshine Coast, are “particularly vulnerable to impacts of a changing climate”.

It's estimated more than 2000 residents and business owners in the Noosa Shire will be impacted by rising sea levels and coastal erosion by 2100 – and not just on the beachfront, riverside properties are expected to be affected also.

The declaration, unanimously endorsed by council yesterday, comes with an “ambitious target” to achieve net-zero carbon emissions locally by 2026 as well as planning for severe weather events and storm surges.

“Active action has to be taken otherwise global catastrophe is inevitable,” Cr Wellington said.

“I think there’s a varying degree of concern about the seriousness of the climate emergency that we face and so it differs from individual to individual who I speak to at both state and federal level as to how seriously they choose to take it.

“What we’ve done today at Noosa Council is demonstrate that unanimously this Council believes that action has to be taken immediately because this is a serious issue.”

The declaration is expected to be ratified at an Ordinary Meeting of council tomorrow, making Noosa the 27^th Australian local government to declare a climate emergency, joining others in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT, as well as more than 700 jurisdictions across the globe.