Climate Action Forum

Mosman Council’s Climate Action Forum brought together guest speakers and representatives from all levels of government on climate resilience and how communities can respond to climate change during a 90-minute webinar on 8 September.

More than 170 attendees registered for the forum which included Mosman Mayor Carolyn Corrigan, Federal Member for Warringah Zali Steggall OAM, Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson, NSW Minister for Energy & Environment Matt Kean, Director of the Sydney Environment Institute Professor David Schlosberg and Mosman Council’s Team Leader Sustainability Professor Ruth Irwin.

Professor Schlosberg said community members were a valuable source of information and insight into local environmental needs and encouraged continual engagement. He said that even areas such as Mosman have vulnerable people who need to be supported through climate change impacts, including heat waves.

Dr Ruth Irwin called for “ecological literacy” to be at the centre of decision-making and said that Mosman Council continues to be proactive in building resilience of its natural areas such as tree cover, safeguarding biodiversity and future planning for energy and other measures.

Cr Corrigan said she was pleased with the event: “The forum featured a stellar line up of speakers presenting on a diverse range of climate change topics and we had an engaged audience asking a wide variety of intelligent questions”.

The forum followed three community workshops held in July and August this year, continuing Council’s active engagement on climate change.

In August 2019 Mosman Council became a member of the Cities Power Partnership to boost greenhouse gas reduction efforts and to improve environmental outcomes and in November 2019 Council declared a Climate Emergency.

In October 2020 Council will have in place a Climate Action Community Consultative Committee for continued community engagement and in December 2020 Council will consider a draft Climate Strategy and Action Plan for the next five years, that will outline potential actions to be assessed against environmental, economic and social outcomes.

View the forum and workshop videos here.