By Hollie Harris
NOOSA councillors met on Tuesday to formally endorse the memorandum of understanding for the Zero Emissions Noosa Collaborative Community Partnership.
When climate change think tank Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) visited Noosa in May it sparked the beginning of a collective group of community organisations to begin working together to achieve zero net emissions in Noosa shire by 2026.
The partnering groups include Noosa Country, Central Queensland Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation, Noosa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Noosa Integrated Catchment Association, Noosa Junction Traders Associations, Noosa Shire Residents and Ratepayers Association, Sunshine Coast Environment Council, Tourism Noosa, University of the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Shire Council.
Zero Emissions Noosa said the Noosa community has long been a leader in demonstrating the strong links that have occurred between its environmental values and economic performance and this strategy represents a continuation of that journey.
It said that the groups could work together taking a collaborative approach through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an aim to develop a joint understanding of the current sources and level of emissions in the Noosa community and potential responses to reduce them.
Mayor Tony Wellington was the signatory on behalf of the council as the final MOU was formally presented and will now be endorsed by the council.
Although the MOU places no obligations on the council, the community alliance expects that various working groups will be supported.
The work being done by the community partnerships complements the council’s recently adopted Zero Emissions Noosa Organisational Strategy to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions generated by council operations.
Working groups will be formed to achieve the targets across electricity, transport, buildings, waste and land use sectors. They will be self-managing and report back to the conveners’ group and community forum.
The forum will meet every three months and may be attended by any interested individual or group. Details on the forums are yet to be released.
The strategy indicates that the council may endeavour to support these organisations to work toward a zero net emissions future for Noosa shire.
