Victoria Invests $23 Million To Combat Climate Change

The Premier, John Brumby, today unveiled a $23 million climate change program that will help individual Victorians and communities take local action to reduce emissions.

Mr Brumby said the Victorian Government would work in partnership with Victorians to help drive down emissions and seize new opportunities in a climate change economy, under the new Climate Communities program.

“The actions of human beings have a direct impact on our climate,” Mr Brumby said.

“Much of the debate on national and global action on climate change centres on the negative impact human beings have had on the climate, but our Government wants to shift the focus onto the positive impact human beings can have on our climate.

“Our Government wants to work in partnership with individual Victorians and communities to help drive down greenhouse gas emissions, to secure Victoria’s future together.”

Mr Brumby said Climate Communities would be based on the successful LandCare initiative – a community driven process supported by government.

“While some may argue that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme makes individual action irrelevant, our Government firmly believes that individual and local action on climate change is now more important than ever before,” he said.

Climate Communities will allow individuals and groups to apply for substantial grants for local projects, which can involve councils, businesses, schools and service groups. Mr Brumby said Climate Communities would fund projects of various sizes with two grant rounds each year. Grants of up to $50,000 will be available.

The projects will need to meet one or more of the key objectives:

• community abatement: involving reductions to greenhouse gas in addition to the CPRS cap;

• community resilience: programs that are implemented within the CPRS cap;

• community innovation: programs that involve trialling new ideas for sustainable living in the energy, waste and transport sectors and promoting their adoption in other communities.

The first round of applications will be opened next year. Further information will be available from Sustainability Victoria and grants will be supplied through Sustainability Victoria’s Sustainability Fund.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings said future rounds of Sustainability Fund grants would be rolled into Climate Communities to provide larger grants for demonstration and innovation projects, with grants to focus on community-based projects which are not eligible for other government funding.

“Existing projects supported through the Sustainability Fund will also be aligned with Climate Communities to share their experiences and best practice in developing community responses to climate change,” he said.

Some projects that may be backed under Climate Communities include; reforestation or revegetation of land to act as carbon sinks, household energy efficiency programs to cut emissions and electricity bills or community education programs that prepare the Victorians for the impacts of climate change and the introduction of a price on carbon.

For more information visit the Sustainability Victoria website.

Topics: Australia, Brumby Government, carbon emissions, climate change, Climate Communities, community resilience, CPRS, energy, global action, Governance, government funding, greenhouse gas, innovation, innovation projects, local action, reduce emission, refroestation, revegetation, sustainable living, transportation, Victoria, waste

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