The Inner West Council (IWC) should be more involved in taking real climate action. It should be promoting and actively seeking to achieve the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030.
To that end, council should:
- Encourage renewable energy use throughout the local government area (LGA).
- Mandate new developments to meet the highest ratings of ecological sustainability.
- Establish a municipal energy company to work on providing cheap electricity, retrofitting homes, and promote solar panel cooperatives.
- To cool down the area: initiate tree-planting programs; support efforts to grow verges; preserve local greenspaces and waterways; and rehabilitate degraded environments.
- Convert town halls into “heat relief centres” during heatwaves.
- Revitalise unused council depots for urban food farming and gardens.
- Mandate an environmentally sustainable and ethical procurement policy.
- Improve recycling and reuse programs; and mandate recycling for local commercial and industrial tenants.
- Subsidise energy and water audits.
- Adopt the former Marrickville Council’s policy of opposing unconventional gas in New South Wales; and promote the existing position against lifting the ban on uranium mining.
- Prevent heritage trees from being destroyed