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City of Melbourne

Represented by Krista Milne, Co-Director Climate Change and City Resilience

Answer

How does your organisation address climate change?

City of Melbourne has a strong record of reducing emissions and restoring and conserving biodiversity. We have:

  • Been certified carbon neutral for our operations every year since 2012
  • Cut emissions from our council operations by 76 per cent since 2013
  • Purchased 100 per cent renewable energy through the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project
  • Switched our major events such as Melbourne Fashion Week, Melbourne Music Week, and Melbourne Knowledge Week to be certified carbon neutral
  • Planted 3000 trees a year to grow our urban forest, with over 30,000 trees planted since 2012
  • Invested $40 million in stormwater harvesting and water sensitive design, capturing and reusing around 180,000 kilolitres of water per year
  • Invested $17.1 million of Clean Energy Finance Corporation funds in energy efficiency and renewable energy, including 2244 solar panels installed and 11,816 street lights
  • Increased biodiversity with over 24,000 m2 of new understorey vegetation planted in Melbourne since 2018, providing habitat for our wildlife
  • Greened the city and increased permeability by over 3,500 m2 through park expansion and streetscapes projects
  • Accelerated waste avoidance and resource recovery through introducing food and organics collection and centralised garbage and recycling hubs across the city

What is your organisation doing to create a better future?

To support our climate and biodiversity emergency declaration, we have committed to reaching Council’s zero emissions target for the municipality 10 years earlier, by 2040. In order to do this, we are launching a new project, Power Melbourne, which will raise the bar on renewable energy by establishing a network of coordinated neighbourhood-scale batteries to deliver more renewable energy into the grid and drive sustainability. The Power Melbourne project will see the installation of a battery network across the city, with a focus on City of Melbourne's existing infrastructure initially, as well as the Melbourne Innovation District located in the CBD’s north. Power Melbourne will encourage greater uptake of renewables, create new opportunities for research, training, and jobs in the green technology sector, and help build Melbourne’s reputation as a centre for clean energy innovation. Alongside this project, we have identified priorities for accelerated action including:

  • Transition council operations from fossil fuels
  • Fast track the delivery of 44km of protected bike lanes in four years
  • Embed climate change and biodiversity action into everything we do
  • Mandate greening and zero emissions buildings through the Planning Scheme

Read more about City of Melbourne’s climate commitments here.