Climate emergency declaration

Darebin was the first government anywhere in the world to declare a Climate Emergency. Here's what that means.

On 5 December 2016, Darebin Council unanimously voted to recognise we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, including local councils.

We are already experiencing more severe and frequent floods, storms, mega bushfires, droughts and heatwaves. Northern Australia has become wetter; southern Australia has become drier. In Darebin we are experiencing more days of above 35C which disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable community members.

These changes are the result of the build-up of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane in our atmosphere. This is largely due to our heavy reliance on burning fossil fuels (petrol, gas and coal) for energy generation, and in transport, agriculture and construction.

This Snapshot Report shows the main sources of emissions in Darebin.

Darebin’s Climate Emergency Plan outlines the leadership, advocacy and mobilisation directions this Council is taking to respond urgently, and at the scale required to address the climate emergency.

This plan has, at its heart, the understanding that we can find the solutions locally, nationally and globally by working together.

Since Darebin Council’s historic climate emergency declaration, we have continued calling for urgent state and federal action on climate change. We have outlined five key demands relating to renewable energy, electric vehicles, construction and the use of recycled materials for roads, footpaths, products and packaging, to help Australia achieve zero emissions by 2030.

Get involved

While it can feel overwhelming at times, there’s so much we can each do to act on climate change. When we all play our part, we inspire each other and our impact grows.

Find out more about what you can do to get involved with our advocacy projects.

Want more information on climate change?

Watch our work so far and our aims for the climate work to come:

Darebin's Climate Emergency Journey video