2:17

A councillor dancing in response to a decision made at an ordinary Council meeting is a rare sight to say the least. However, there was good reason for the extraordinary reaction as it happened in Geelong on 23 November 2021 when the City of Greater Geelong Council unanimously approved its new Climate Change Reponse Plan and with this the ambition to reach community-wide carbon-neutrality by 2035.

The local media, however, could not see the extraordinary impact of this net zero emissions decision. In the following days, the local papers mainly headlined stories about a set of new car parking rules and a new dog park, which also were decided on by Council at that same meeting. The journalists of Geelong Indy, Geelong Times and Geelong Advertiser all saw it more important to write about various awards, festivals and getting everyone ready for the ‘Black Friday bonanza’.

For the leaders of a city of around 250,000 people to declare the city officially heading for carbon-neutrality within just 14 years stands in sharp contrast to the shameful inaction on the climate emergency which Australia made itself known for world-wide at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow two weeks earlier.

Greater Geelong’s emissions have been stable at 3.2 million tonnes for last three years. So there’s considerable work to be done. Council itself did not make an announcement ‘with a roll of drums and a trumpet fanfare’ about its decision, which is probably the most far-reaching in Geelong’s history, apart from its founding. It would appear that the 11 councillors have not all grasped the enormity of what they actually voted for. City of Greater Geelong is going have to lift its game to much greater heights if it expects to engage the broader community in achieving its target for our municipality. This was a lost opportunity, and the clock is ticking – louder now.

Two new ideas were presented at the Council meeting: Cr Sarah Mansfield’s suggestion to organise a ‘COP of Geelong‘ – a climate summit to bring all the city’s stakeholders together and get everyone on the same page, and David Philip’s suggestion to place a huge carbon ‘thermometre’ at display, continuously updated, showing where the city is at with its emissions. It could start at the 100% mark, and residents would then be able to follow the metre’s gradual decline down to zero.

Centre for Climate Safety’s proposal of a Climate Citizens Assembly and its rationale – especially the priorities of creating awareness and momentum, and resolving conflicting opinion – must not be allowed to be placed on the back burner either.

Here’s an excerpt of some of the speeches, comments and remarks from the meeting – as well as questions from the public.

Recordings from Geelong Council’s historic meeting

Source: Geelong Council

. . .

Cr Sarah Mansfield

3:33

. . .

Cr Bruce Harwood

1:22

. . .