Climate of cost

Peter Farago
CITY of Greater Geelong plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent on 2006 levels in the next three years.
Councillors this week voted to join the climate change bandwagon that started rolling again after the Howard Govern-ment was deposed last month.
Under the City’s plans, it will cut emissions from its corporate activities.
It has already conducted an audit, which found that City buildings were the worst offenders, pumping about 45 per cent of council emissions.
Street lighting was second, at 41 per cent, while the City’s fleet accounted for some 16 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the plan, the City will place a cap of 23,125 tonnes on emissions from 2010.
The council has toyed with greenhouse gas issues in the past, some individuals serious but others effectively laughing it off.
A symbolic issue was the vehicles of choice for Geelong’s two top civic officials – chief executive officer Kay Rundle and the mayor.
A previous environmental warrior on council, Cr Rob Binnie, had urged councillors to push for use of Toyota’s hybrid Prius to replace the City’s guzzling passenger fleet. But the council didn’t take the hint.
The next vehicles purchased for the CEO and the mayor were a Ford Territory and an LTD respectively.
But with the fleet creating only 12 per cent of emissions, council will need to look further into the organisation to make significant savings.
Council has a massive bureaucracy spread across the city, with buildings in Myers, Gheringhap and Brougham streets.
It’s already flagged using green energy or electricity from renewable sources.
Perhaps City officials need to consider changes in work practices to save on energy consumption instead of burning the same amount of power from a different source.
Street lighting is a massive emitter but is also a massive public safety issue.
Obviously, solar street lighting could be harnessed but council could also investigate better types of lights so minimal energy is expended for maximum impact.
At the end of this exercise, many ratepayers will ask: “Ahh, but how much will it all cost?” Well, it could cost plenty.
Green energy is usually more expensive, as is solar technology, given the massive rate of improvement.
In a report to councillors, City officials flagged using government funding opportunities to tap into solar technology.
But what of the rest of the plan?
Council has to be careful the cost of its own climate change cause doesn’t adversely impact on residents already straining as their water and power bills increase.