SAMPLE EMAIL

Dear Glen Eira Councillor,
 
I am a resident of Glen Eira and am deeply concerned about Global Warming and the dire environmental, economic and social consequences that are predicted as our planet heats. I believe if we work together change can be achieved and some of the problems averted.
 
Local government is a very useful avenue of change-just think about how our disposal of household waste has altered. Our Council provided the means and residents have been enthusiastically sorting  their waste. The Federal Governemnt has funds available to local government under the Cities for Climate Change program- CCP ( Please see the Attachment for more details).

 As at April 2006 there were 212 CCP local government participants - representing 82 per cent of Australia's population - that are commited to achieving sustainable, long-term reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions through their participation in CCP Australia. However the residents of Glen Eira are not part of this group. Glen Eira city council has not signed onto this program.

The recent Stern paper demonstrates the business case for early action, indicating that if we don't act now there will be serious financial issues in the future.

Joining CCP will link Council into a broader state and international network. CCP offers political support, they will support the Councillors and Council staff to work through the 5 step milestone process.

We look to our local council for leadership and encourage the council to become active members of Cities for Climate Change as soon as possible.
 
Could you please acknowledge receipt of this letter.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
 

About Cities for Climate Protection Australia

The Australian Government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 8 per cent above 1990 levels by 2010. This reduction is significant and requires the combined effort of all Australians. The Australian Greenhouse Office works with local government, industry and the community to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Australia programme assists local governments and their communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Prime Minister, in his statement Safeguarding the Future in November 1997, funded the programme through a commitment of $13 million over 5 years. CCP is an important component of the Australian Government's Local Greenhouse Action, which received funding of $13.8 million in the May 2004 Federal Budget - extending the Australian Government's financial backing of CCP Australia to a decade. Funding for the pilot programme was announced on 5 June 1997, with the first CCP councils joining the programme shortly afterwards. CCP Australia is an international trade-marked programme of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) delivered in collaboration with the Australian Greenhouse Office. The Cities for Climate ProtectionTM (CCP) Campaign enlists cities to adopt policies and implement measures to achieve quantifiable reductions in local greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and enhance urban livability and sustainability. More than 650 local governments participate in the CCP, integrating climate change mitigation into their decision-making processes. ICLEI runs this highly successful and widely recognized campaign either regionally or nationally in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, Latin America, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the United States.

The campaign is based on an innovative performance framework structured around five milestones that local governments commit to undertake. The milestones allow local governments to understand how municipal decisions affect energy use and how these decisions can be used to mitigate global climate change while improving community quality of life. The CCP methodology provides a simple, standardized way of acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and of monitoring, measuring, and reporting performance.
 
 
As at April 2006 there were 212 CCP local government participants - representing 82 per cent of Australia's population - that are commited to achieving sustainable, long-term reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions through their participation in CCP Australia. Australian local governments lead the world in the number of participants involved, percentage of population covered and actions taken. In 2005, CCP Australia celebrated the achievement of recruiting 200 participants, and also continued to deliver strong abatement growth. CCP local governments reported 1.55 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emission reductions, exceeding the previous year's figures by more than 22 per cent. Total emission reductions over the life of the programme now exceed five million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
 
 

Benefits of Participation

Communities that participate in the CCP benefit from the actions that they take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through: Financial savings in reduced utility and fuel costs to the local government, households, and businesses. Improved local air quality, contributing to the general health and well being of the community. Economic development and new local jobs as investments in locally produced energy products and services keep money circulating in the local economy. In addition, ICLEI provides regionally specific tools and technical assistance to assist local governments in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. For information on the specific resources that ICLEI provides in your region, please check with your regional ICLEI Office.
 
Statements from participating councils
 
The City of Stonnington recognises that climate change poses a significant threat to our way of life and that of future generations. Council is committed to directly reducing Council's greenhouse gas emissions and working with the local community to implement energy saving measures that will lead to an improved quality of life for all. Council's recently adopted Sustainable Environment Plan illustrates Council's on-going commitment to address a wide range of environmental issues including the threat of climate change. A word from the Mayor
 
Darebin City Council

Climate Change is clearly one of the biggest threats facing our planet. The impacts of climate change are becoming more apparent with increasing occurrence of record temperatures, natural disasters and changes in weather patterns. These have enormous effects on people, our food sources and other species. More action is needed now, by governments, busineses and the community if we are to reduce the impacts of Climate Change. Darebin City Council is committed to achieving our corporate Cities for Climate Protection™ reduction target by 2010 and continuing our contribution to greenhouse gas reduction beyond that target. Many of the corporate actions to reduce greenhouse emissions undertaken to date also realise other benefits for Darebin including financial savings, increases in efficiency, improved services, and healthy and more comfortable work areas. Darebin has also introduced a range of innovative programs such as Community Power, Sustainable Homes and our Green Travel Programs to make it as easy as possible for our residents to reduce their greenhouse emissions. We look forward to continuing work with our community and through our partnerships to address this crticial issue. A word from the Mayor City of Melbourne

Deeper goals need to be set if we are to stabilise global climate change. The City of Melbourne has taken on this challenge, developing a roadmap for the municipality to achieve zero (net) greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, ending the City's contribution to global warming within 20 years. The City of Melbourne was the first local government in Australia to achieve all five Milestones of the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP™) programme, and has continued it’s involvement by signing on to CCP Plus. Council has achieved a 26 per cent reduction (below 1996 levels) of corporate emissions, and we are developing exciting programmes to deal with the municipality's emissions. These efforts provide a solid foundation for Council’s longer term and more ambitious target of zero
(net) emissions by the year 2020.
A word from the Mayor
 
 
Some case studies
 

AUSTRALIA POST undertook a number of energy efficiency measures and a cultural change program for staff. Initiatives implemented included better monitoring of heating ad cooling temperatures, switching off printers and computer screens and saving paper all contributed to savings.  Australia Post estimated that staff actions, when implemented throughout the company, would save $260,000 per year and reduce greenhouse emissions by 4,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent. As staff actions involved behaviour change rather than capital investments Australia Post achieved almost immediate payback.
 

ESSENDON FOOTBALL CLUB undertook simple audits and discovered that the air conditioning was on when the building was unattended. Changes to the timers controlling the hours of operation saved the club $4000 dollars a year and reduced the clubs green house emissions by 8%. This occurred at no cost to the club.
 

NORTHCOTE POTTERY local company spent $500 dollars on insulation and improved their behaviours on energy use turning off unnecessary lighting and as a result saved $6,255 in a year
 

HONEYWELL worldwide building control company working for University of New England made a saving of $895,000 annually through upgrading a boiler that was losing 40% of the heat it creates. This annual emission reduction of 13,200 tonnes is the equivalent of taking 2,900 cars off the road. The installation of a new more energy efficient gas heating system costing $6.8 million was fully funded by energy savings.
 

Adelaide City Council saved $25,000 and 177 tonnes eCO2 p.a. with minimal capital outlay after activating the energy star functions on its 370 computers, 45 photocopiers and 30 printers. Calculations using Sustainable Energy Development Software indicates that Brimbank could achieve savings greater in magnitude. Network compatibility and energy star computer purchase would have to be investigated first.
 

The City of Newcastle, in NSW, carried out an energy efficient retrofit of lighting in the City Administration Centre. This action has reduced energy consumption by 47% saving about 350 tonnes of CO2-e per year. With a project cost was $52,000 and annual energy savings of $18,000, the project had a payback period of 2.5 years. In total, Newcastle’s energy efficiency initiatives have led to savings of around $1 million per year in energy costs.
 

The City of Moonee Valley engaged a consultant to conduct energy an energy audit on one of its main facilities which provided a series of low cost energy saving ideas. Aside from the consulting fee, implementation of the ideas was costed at $1,200 with resultant savings of $3,800 p.a. These measures were estimated to reduce the facilities emissions by 59 tonnes p.a.
 

The City of Canada Bay installed a solar hot water system to operate in parallel with its existing gas fired water heating units at a leisure centre. The initiative cost $70,000, reduced gas use by 25% and saved 139 tonnes of eCO2 annually.
 

The Frankston Arts Centre installed a solar hot water system which reduced eCO2 emissions from the building by 41 tonnes per year. A reduction in energy use of 700,000 megajoules resulted in annual savings of $6,200 and a payback period of 1.8 years.
 

The City of Port Phillip is using diode (DIO) technology to light areas at night. The lighting and maintenance costs were reduced by more than $36,000 annually (80%) and CO2e emissions will be reduced by approximately 110 tonnes. As they provide directed lighting, light pollution is also reduced. The project has a payback period of 3.5 years based on a capital outlay of $100,000.
 

The City of Melville replaced 6 x 3.5 litre vehicles with 6 x 1.6 litre vehicles, saving 1200 litres of unleaded petrol per year and reducing greenhouse emissions by 3 tonnes CO2-e.
 

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