Climate change is arguably the most important global issue in our current time with very significant social, economic and environmental impacts.

The projected impacts of climate change will affect almost every aspect of local government including provision of infrastructure, recreational facilities, health services, land use planning and park and bushland management.

National Context

Australia is one of the world’s top twenty polluters. We release more carbon per person than any other country in the developed world. Thus we have a political and ethical obligation to act and to act urgently.

On 16 August 2011, the Climate Commission released the report Climate Change Impacts for Western Australia. The report states that the south-west of Western Australia is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The effects include decreasing rainfall, rising sea levels and threats to biodiversity.