City of Newcastle should declare a climate emergency, Greens councillor John Mackenzie believes.
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Cr Mackenzie, who was also the Greens candidate for Newcastle in the federal election, will move a notice of motion at council's ordinary meeting on Tuesday proposing the declaration.
If it is endorsed, he says the city would follow the lead of 536 councils worldwide that have made climate emergency declarations.
"In many ways, the climate emergency declaration is the culmination of the very practical work that the City of Newcastle has undertaken to tackle the climate crisis," Cr Mackenzie told Newcastle Herald on Wednesday.
"The declaration would be a commitment to the city that from now on, all council decisions will consider what it means for climate change, for emissions, and for the climate crisis we need to avert.
"It would fulfil our promise to lead the transition to a low carbon economy by positioning our city as a global testing ground for innovative technologies and behavioural change."
Cr Mackenzie said 18 local governments in Australia had declared a climate emergency since December 2016, including eight in NSW.
One of those was Upper Hunter Shire Council, which did so in February.
The Australian Capital Territory also became the country's first state or territory to declare a climate emergency last week, committing to prioritise climate action in its decision making.
"Newcastle has a long and proud history of leading the charge nationally to reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions and tackle climate change," Cr Mackenzie said.
"It started in 2001 with council's Greenhouse Action in Newcastle Plan, and continued through the Newcastle 2020 Carbon and Water Management Action Plan, which we will deliver next year."
Cr Mackenzie said the current council's dedication to climate action had been "bold and determined" through multiple initiatives.
"This is a council which has built our own five mega-watt solar farm, and has installed solar PV across eight other council facilities, including our sporting grounds and libraries," he said.
"We are undertaking Newcastle-wide street lighting upgrades to LED, continuing the roll-out of battery storage across council facilities, investigating smart microgrid installations, supporting the uptake of electric vehicles for council's fleet and providing electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the city."
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