Local Government must take the climate change baton

 

W

 

ith the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) session in Paris fast approaching, the issue of climate change is about to be centre-stage on the global policy agenda.

Australian citizens can be forgiven for being pessimistic in the lead-up to COP-21; many remember the way in which the 2009 conference in Copenhagen saw several countries at loggerheads and the chances of a comprehensive, binding global agreement on climate change substantially undermined.

Australia’s major political parties continue to wage war over their favoured public policy response, as well as the degree to which they believe the science. Rigid partisanship and petty politicking have undoubtedly tainted the issue of climate change in Australia and have left those who care about the issue feeling deflated and disheartened.

However, Australians can find a great deal of encouragement, optimism and hope by examining climate policy outside the confines of Canberra. Local government is fast becoming a climate change leader in both the national and international spheres. Australia is home to a range of proactive local councils which are taking the issue into their own hands and combatting climate change regardless of the stalemate currently seen at the federal level.

Read Matthew Bowron’s story on the Centre for Policy Development (CPD) website  - “Climate change through a sub-national lens”.

Bowron is a CPD research intern and holds a Master of Public Policy. He is the author of CPD’s scoping paper ‘Global Problem, Local Solutions’.