Climate change
Council is taking action to address climate change. See what's happening and find out how you can be involved.
Council recognises climate change as a global issue and that we are in a state of climate emergency requiring urgent and sustained effort. We also recognise that responding to climate change is a shared responsibility. We need to work together to focus our efforts and change our behaviours to increase the resilience of our region. We need to prepare for the likely impacts of a changing climate, whilst also reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Governments have an important role in showing leadership and supporting community action.
Regional climate action roadmap
Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Shire Council have joined forces to proactively plan for the future needs of our organisations and communities.
Together, we are creating a regional climate action roadmap to guide, inform and build regional capacity to develop and prioritise local responses to climate-related risks such as sea level rise, higher temperatures, bushfires, floods, and droughts. To help build the roadmap, community input was sought through the climate action community survey in October 2021.
This will continue existing efforts to ensure council, local business and community are climate ready.
The councils will work closely with organisations and community representatives across the Noosa and Sunshine Coast region. Together, they will identify the important issues, opportunities and roles that we can all play in creating a resilient future.
The roadmap is being developed thanks to grant funding from the Local Government Association of Queensland and the Queensland Climate Resilient Councils initiative.
Further information on the development of the roadmap can be found on the project website.
For more information, please contact climatechange@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.
Our commitment to managing climate change
Our commitment to managing climate change
Council has committed to mitigating and adapting to climate change:
- council recognises that we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent and sustained effort to achieve net zero emissions by 2041
- council has committed to being a zero-net emissions organisation by 2041 and has adopted the zero-net emissions (ZNE) plan 2022 (PDF, 4.6MB). This plan sets out the process and actions to reduce our organisational greenhouse gas emissions
- council is implementing its environment and liveability strategy, which was adopted in 2017. This strategy provides a vision and contemporary approach to delivering a healthy environment and liveable Sunshine Coast in 2041, including taking action on climate change
- council has adopted a coastal hazard adaptation strategy. The strategy identifies innovative management options that respond to current and future coastal hazard risks. These actions will guide us as we seek to deliver a more resilient coastline and well adapted coastal communities as our climate changes.
Proactive steps underway to manage climate change
Proactive steps underway to manage climate change
Actions council is taking to proactively respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change include:
- council is developing the Blue Heart Sunshine Coast, an area of more than 5,000 hectares on a natural floodplain in the Maroochy River catchment. The project area includes approximately 1,400 hectares of public land. It provides storage for the Maroochy River catchment. Preserving flood storage within the Blue Heart is critical to the ongoing flood management of the catchment and in particular, the built environment. This floodplain area is already impacted by tidal inundation and over time is expected to continue transitioning due to climate change and projected sea level rise. Blue Heart Sunshine Coast is an innovative partnership between council, the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Science and Unitywater
- council is leading a nomination for the local government area to become a UNESCO biosphere. Becoming a biosphere would further enhance the Sunshine Coast’s national and international reputation of outstanding environmental value and scenic amenity. It will also help create niche markets for sustainable products, services, facilities and practices
- council is a member of The Climate Council’s cities power partnership. This is an alliance of local governments working together to act on climate change and share information and knowledge. As of June 2021, 140 councils from across the country (representing over half of the Australian population) are members. In September 2020, council won the regional award for innovation for its Blue Heart Sunshine Coast project
- council's Sunshine Coast Design book outlines 10 design principles to help plan and design for our local climate. Designing buildings that are resilient to change, are climate responsive and incorporate sustainability features are key to our region’s broader climate change response
- the Sunshine Coast planning scheme responds to climate change. For example, development is to be resilient to current and future flooding and coastal hazards. Enhancement of relevant planning scheme provisions will be informed by findings of the strategy
- we’re providing a range of community programs aimed at sustainable living via our successful living smart program and environmental initiatives
- council is investing significant resources into risk reduction and disaster prevention planning. This includes Queensland’s first disaster resilience plan (PDF, 7875KB)
- council is supporting a thriving Cleantech sector. This sector is well-known for developing innovative approaches to emissions reduction.