Zeppel_H_Carbon management in peri-urban cities in Queensland

Australian Centre for Sustainable Business

and Development

Carbon Management by Peri-urban Cities in Queensland:

Challenges in transitioning to a low carbon future

Heather Zeppel

Beyond the Edge: Australia’s First Peri-urban Conference

La Trobe University, Melbourne

1-2 October 2013

Queensland Local Government

• 73 Qld Local Councils: 7 City, 30 Regional, 24 Shire, & 12 Ab. Shire Councils

• 5 of 10 largest LGA in SEQ, population to double by 2030 (peri-urban)

Brisbane (1), Gold Coast (2), Moreton Bay (3), Sunshine Coast (4), Logan (6th)

• Qld population grew by 23% or 845,200 people (2001-2011). Coastal growth in Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, Cairns, Townsville (18th), & Mackay

• National Growth Areas Alliance (25 councils): Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay

• 191,000 workers in SEQ region commute daily to Brisbane (RDA-Qld)

• Highest carbon emissions per capita & total waste generated is in Qld

• 20 Qld Councils & 7 prior Shires in Cities for Climate Protection program

*CCP cities set GHG emission reduction goals (corporate, community) to 2010

e.g. 20%-25% reduction on (1996-2001) levels by 2010 (voluntary, non-binding)

*Cairns Regional Council: 50% reduction on 2007/08 levels by 2020

Can Queensland peri-urban cities transition to a lower carbon future?

Urban, Peri-urban & Regional Areas

Carbon Compliance and Liability for City Councils

Clean Energy Act 2011

• Carbon Price Mechanism (‘tax’) of $23 per tCO2-e July 2012 ($24.15c - 2013)

• Liable entities report GHG emissions over threshold of 25,000tCO2-e

• Carbon tax liability on landfill emissions begins from 1 July 2013

• Carbon credits (ACCUs) from landfill gas flaring/electricity/waste diversion

* Increased cost of electricity, water, fuel, transport, & raw materials

* Brisbane City Council – est. carbon tax of $65 million over next 4 years * Gold Coast City Council – est.$1.6M electricity & $1.1M landfill costs Clean Energy Regulator - 40 local councils are liable entities for carbon ‘tax’

• 10 Qld Councils are liable entities for landfill emissions (urban/peri-urban): City Councils (4): Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan, Townsville Regional Councils (6): Gladstone, Mackay, Moreton Bay, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba

Climate Change Mitigation by Qld Councils

“Mitigation involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions being emitted to minimise the impact from climate change.” (LGAQ, 2009)

Mitigating Climate Change: An Introductory Guide for Queensland Local Government

• Climate change & carbon management programs – voluntary, regulatory

• Council carbon exposure, managing GHG emission sources:

Solid waste and landfills

Wastewater treatment plants

Fleet

Building air conditioning (refrigerants)

Natural gas use

Electricity use

Corporate travel

Purchasing

Offsets

• Carbon risks & opportunities for councils – carbon price impacts

Climate Change Mitigation Survey of Qld Councils

• Commissioned by Local Government Infrastructure Services (LGIS)

• Survey conducted January to May 2012

• Survey sent to all 73 Qld local Councils (email, post, phone calls)

• 5 key sections: Your Council; Climate Change; Mitigation; Offsetting; Carbon Price

List of 64 carbon mitigation actions (i.e. energy, water, waste, behaviour change, offsetting)

• Survey completed by 32 Qld Councils (51% response, excl. Aboriginal SC):

5 City Councils (CC) (Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay, Redland, Townsville)

18 Regional Councils (RC) (Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Toowoomba,

Mackay, Gladstone & 12 others)

9 Shire Councils (SC) (3 coastal, 6 inland)

• Survey respondents were environmental/sustainability staff, & others

Climate change/carbon, environment, sustainability, waste, NRM = 25

CEO/corporate services = 5

Engineering/building surveyor = 2

Council Responsibility for Climate Change Issues

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Planning & Environment/Planning & Sustainability (n=19)

Corporate Services/Governance/Finance & Business (n=9)

General Manager/CEO (n=10)

Environmental Services/Water & Waste (n=8)

Mayor and elected councillors (n=5)

Policy and Planning/Planning & Development /Regional Strategy & Planning (n=5)

Infrastructure Services/Engineering, Construction & Maintenance Services (n=5)

Other (n=5)

Sustainability Unit /Sustainability Department (n=4)

Environment Team/Assets & Environment /Open Space & Environment (n=3)

Community Development/Services (n=2)

City

Regional

Shire

Aboriginal Shire

Other: Infrastructure Manager (CC), Fleet and Hydrology Managers (RC), Engineer (SC), Hydraulics & Hydrology (RC), Spread across organisation: Waste, Fleet, Flood & Waterways (RC); No one delegated (4)

Council Funding of Climate Change Initiatives

Other: (RC) ‘Strategic projects’ ; ‘business sponsorship to offset events, NGOs implement program’; ‘low on budget priority’ Private sector partnership: (CC) Ergon Energy (Townsville) ; Energy Conservation Communities (Redland)

17

9

8

10

2 3

Funding of climate initiatives - total

Council operating budget

State/Fed Govt Grants

Council levy/action or revolvingfund

No council funding for climatechange

Private sector partnerships

Other

Climate Change Responses by Councils

• CC is an Important issue (21 Councils)

• CC will Impact on Council operations (22 Councils)

• A little prepared (16), fairly prepared (10), not prepared (1), very prepared (1)

• Statutory obligations (13); Additional climate initiatives (13); Proactive (6)

• Climate change actions included in a corporate plan (16)

• Do NOT consider carbon mitigation guidelines in planning decisions (23)

3 councils do (renewable energy): Sunshine Coast, Townsville, 1 inland SC

• Climate change/carbon mitigation actions mainly included in:

waste management plan (20)

water management plan (16)

environment plan (11)

climate change plan (11) – coastal/larger inland councils (>30,000 population)

Council Climate Change Plans – Areas Covered

____________________________________________________

Climate ASC SC RC CC Total

Change Areas _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Waste Reduction 1 2 8 4 15

Community Education 1 1 8 5 15

Energy Efficiency 0 3 6 5 14

Water Conservation 1 2 6 3 12

Sustainable Living 1 0 6 4 11

Sustainable Transport 0 1 5 4 10

Other 0 0 6 3 9

Sustainable Business 0 0 3 5 8

Renewable Energy 0 0 3 5 8

Clean Energy Business 0 0 2 3 5 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Carbon Mitigation Actions by Councils

• 433 carbon actions implemented by 30 Councils (average = 14.4)

City Councils (32.4)

Regional Councils (12.8) (*urban/peri-urban areas)

Shire Councils (4)

• Main carbon mitigation actions:

energy (55%)

water (17%)

waste (13%)

behaviour change (13%)

offset actions (2.5%)

• Top 20 carbon mitigation actions:

smaller-scale energy efficiency measures + solar PV power

waste management

water conservation

behaviour change programs (information, staff training)

Waste Efficiency Actions by Councils ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Waste efficiency actions Number ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Practise recycling and minimise amount of solid waste (2nd) 17

Implemented active waste reduction measures (5th) 13

Encourage self-composting of waste by residents/businesses (6th) 11

Implemented any other waste initiatives 7

Capture methane gas from Council landfills to generate power (EE) 6

Use composting to treat wastes 4

Use anaerobic digestion to treat wastes 2

Use anaerobic digestion of sludge in WWTP for biogas 2

Facilitate sewage/water mining by industry/developers 1 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Range: 3-5 waste actions (5 CC); Range: 1-5 waste actions (13 RC); Range: 1-3 waste actions (3 SC)

7 Councils reported being over landfill emissions liability threshold of 25,000tCO2-e (CER - 10 liable):

Gold Coast, Logan, Townsville, Mackay, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba

Behaviour Change Actions by Councils

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Behaviour change actions Number _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Share information with neighbouring Councils on emissions reduction (6th) 11

Provide information to residents on reducing their emissions (7th) 10

Train Council staff or volunteers on your emissions reduction actions (9th) 8

Provide information to businesses on reducing their emissions 7

Market the emissions reduction initiatives of your Council 6

Include emissions reduction targets in Council corporate plans 5

*Choose suppliers taking actions to reduce their emissions 4

Provide community rebates for energy/water/waste efficiency products 4

Total: 55 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Logan CC, Townsville CC, Mackay RC & Toowoomba RC had a green purchasing program

Five City Councils had 1 to 7 behaviour change actions listed (average = 4.8 actions)

Nine Regional Councils had 1 to 5 behaviour change actions listed

Banana Shire Council listed 4 behaviour change actions

Council Motives to Reduce Carbon Emissions ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reason to Reduce Carbon Emissions Number Rank ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Major reasons to reduce emissions (> 5 responses)

Cost savings 24 1.8

Environmental regulations (eg Waste Management Strategy) 12 2.2

Council climate change strategy/action plan 11 2.4

Council resolutions on climate change/energy efficiency 9 2.6

Demonstrate climate leadership to local businesses/residents 15 3.0

Minor reasons to reduce emissions (< 5 responses)

Certification (eg CCP) or permit requirement 4 2.6

Business reporting legal requirement (eg NGERS) 3 2.6

Queensland renewable energy plan 3 3.0

Attract low-carbon industry investment 4 3.2

Other (ie SEQ Regional Plan, drought, reduce climate risk) 3 3.3

Preparation for energy trading schemes/carbon legislation 4 3.5

Qld government climate change strategy/Q2 carbon targets 3 4.3

Differentiate your Council as a ‘climate friendly’ region 5 4.7

Premier’s Statement on carbon emissions 1 3.0 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Managing Carbon Emissions at Councils

• Assess carbon emissions already (13 Councils), assess emissions next 12 months (5 )

• Council systems to calculate GHG emissions: NGERS (10), Excel spread sheets (7)

Consultants (3) e.g. LGIS, Planet Footprint, Sustainable Corporate Solutions

• Low priority/not a priority to reduce carbon emissions (18 councils)

• Emissions under NGERS threshold of 25,000tCO2-e (19 Councils)

• Do not assess/know most cost-effective emissions reduction actions (17 councils)

City Councils: ROI (<10 years), MACC, lowest initial cost

Regional (City) Councils: ROI (<10 yrs), govt grants, lowest initial cost, MACC, not sure

Green Power

• 3 Councils purchased Green Power: Redland - 5%, Townsville, Tablelands

(Brisbane City Council purchases 100% Green Power)

• Logan City Council - ‘initiated a regional Green Power purchasing concept,

including Queensland renewable energy station’

Council Carbon Emissions ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Emissions Source Number % Total Council Emissions Responses Average

(Response Range) Emissions ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Landfill (9) 24 - 86% 5 57% (1st)

Energy (7) 10 - 68% 4 37%

Vehicle fleet (10) 3 - 34% 8 16%

WWTP(s) (6) 10 - 23% 3 15%

Council office (7) 3 - 37% 5 13.7%

Water storage (3) 11 - 12% 2 11.5%

Street lighting (8) 5 - 26% 6 9.8%

Other facilities (4) 6 - 9% 2 7.5% __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12 Councils measured both Scope 1 (fuel, waste) and Scope 2 (energy) emissions

Scope 3 (goods, travel) emissions measured by Gold Coast CC, Redland CC (& Tablelands RC)

Council Investment in GHG Emissions Reduction

5

4

4

3

3

2

11

11

9

6

6

3

1

3

2

3

1

1

1

1

1

0 5 10 15 20 25

Energy efficiency

Landfill management

Waste management

Behaviour change

Vehicle fleet

Solar power

Other

City

Regional

Shire

Aboriginal Shire

Carbon Mitigation Actions by City Councils

• Townsville City

Solar City, Energy performance contracts, Network demand management

(CBD cooling, EE upgrades-TCC offices/street lights, staff education)

• Logan City: Ammonia chilled AC, EE upgrades-buildings (CEEP, LGEEP)

• Redland City

EE upgrades-buildings, Household energy conservation audits/meters,

Sustainable Homes program, Energy Conservation Communities

• Sunshine Coast RC: EE projects-top 10 sites, behaviour change, landfill

• Cairns RC: Energy & Emissions System, Carbon Reduction Pathway

• Toowoomba RC: solar PV, landfill gas collection/flaring, diesel vehicles

• Moreton Bay RC: EE-buildings, organic waste diversion, carbon reserves

• Mackay RC: EE, sustainability policy, community education/engagement

• Gladstone RC: harvest methane from landfill, eco-efficiency measures

Carbon Offsetting by Qld Councils

• 7 large Qld councils offsetting emissions (5 CC: 2004-10, 2 RC: 2010/11)

• Bought Australian(4)/international (1) carbon credits (e.g. Sunshine Coast RC)

• 4 councils planned to offset emissions in next 12 months (3 RC, 1 SC)

• Carbon emissions offset: vehicle fuel (4), electricity (4), community events (3),

hire vehicles (1), printed material (1), airline travel (1: ad hoc)

• Support offsetting by tree planting or partner with conservation groups (10): Ecofund Qld, Greenfleet, Greening Aust., Conservation Volunteers Aust.

• Council motives for offsetting:

Concern about climate change impacts 2.2

‘Right thing to do’/support conservation 2.3

Being a climate friendly business enterprise 2.8

Financially support offset projects 2.8

• Unsure about offset guidelines in Carbon Credits Act 2011 (17 councils)

• Carbon offsetting not necessary/not a priority (18 councils)

Barriers to Councils Implementing Carbon Actions

• Cost & lack of funding, reliance on Council operating budget or grants

‘lack of funds for any mitigation even though demonstrated return is three to five years. Things are very tight.’ (Redland CC)

• Lack of Council policies (on climate change)

• Indifference/lack of support by senior managers & some councillors

• Lack of staff to implement climate action, no climate change delegation

• Carbon mitigation actions & responses spread across Council areas

• Environmental regulations: ‘restrictive DERM licence conditions on WWTPs ’,

‘uncertain RECs market over past 3 years’

• Data management: energy & fuel accounts; coordinating data entry; calculating landfill emissions; managing & sharing emissions data across Council areas; software to generate reports on emissions

• Changing federal government guidelines, GHG reporting standards

Climate Change Response by Local Councils

• Innovative (Leader) 1 RC

Aim: To fully integrate climate change thinking and action into all Council

operations with a view to becoming a carbon neutral leader

• Progressive (Proactive) 6 councils (1 CC, 3 RC, 1 SC)

Aim: To proactively pursue mitigation and adaptation actions designed to

address the challenges posed by climate change

• Opportunistic (Follower) 13 councils (3 CC, 6 RC, 4 SC)

Aim: To engage in climate change related initiatives beyond statutory

requirements from time to time as resources become available

• Minimalistic (Reactionary) 13 councils (9 RC, 4 SC)

Aim: To comply with statutory obligations as determined under State and

Federal legislation

Wood, M. & McNamara, S. (2011). Philosophy for climate action: Ballina Shire Council. 20th NSW Coastal Conference, 8-11 Nov., 2011.

Assessment of Carbon Management by Councils

• Number and range of carbon mitigation actions related to: 1) Type, & size of Council (>30,000), 2) Coastal location, & 3) Climate change strategy

• Level of carbon price preparation related to:

1) Council Size, 2) Geographic location, & 3) Measuring carbon emissions

Philosophy for Climate Action

• Qld Councils largely ‘Minimalistic’ or ‘Opportunistic’ in climate initiatives

• Six Qld Councils are ‘Progressive’ (proactively pursuing mitigation actions)

Carbon Management Assessment Matrix (LGAQ, 2009)

• Larger metropolitan/coastal Qld councils more prepared & ‘carbon ready’

Stage 3: ‘Consolidating’ or Stage 4: ‘Mainstreaming’ carbon actions

• Smaller, inland rural Qld councils least prepared & not ‘carbon ready’

Stage 1: ‘Latent’ or Stage 2: ‘Emerging’ carbon actions

Qld State Budget 2012/13 & Qld Local Government

Qld State Budget: $148.5 million in capital grants for Qld Local Councils

(disaster recovery, public works, roads, flood mitigation, community infrastructure; $100,000: solar powered CCTV-Townsville)

• LG Sustainable Future Fund, Waste Avoidance & Resource Efficiency Fund cut

Abolition of Qld govt. carbon schemes, ‘responsibility of Australian government’

Qld Govt. – Sustainability: Energy-efficient Homes & Recycling; Clean Energy

LG Low Carbon Transition relies on Federal grants & State planning policy

• Community/LG Energy Efficiency Program – Brisbane, Logan, Cairns, Townsville

Carbon management in peri-urban Qld cities

*Population growth & development (land use planning, jobs, transport, waste)

*Decentralised: Satellite cities - Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay, Redlands

Digital Work Hubs-5 SEQ RDAs, solar PV power, recycling, green space)

Peri-urban Electricity Generated by Solar PV in 2011

Sydney Melbourne Brisbane

Low Carbon Urban Transition (Newton & Newman, 2013)

References & Resources

Hoff, J. (2010) Local climate protection programs in Australia and New Zealand: Results, dilemmas and relevance for future actions. CIDEA Project Report No. 1. www.iclei.org

LGAQ. (2009). Mitigating Climate Change: An Introductory Guide for Queensland Local Government . www.lgaq.asn.au

LGAQ. (2012). Affects of the Carbon Price on Qld Councils: Summary Analysis. LGAQ

Newton, P. & Newman, P. (2013). The geography of solar photovoltaics (PV) and a new low carbon urban transition theory. Sustainability, 5(6), 2357-2556.

Storey, H. et. al. (2012). Local Action for a Low Carbon Future. ACELG. www.acelg.org.au

Storey, H. & Eckstein, D. (2013). Approaches taken by local councils – transitioning and transforming communities and local economies towards a low carbon future. LGMA.

Zeppel, H. & James-Overheu (2012). Climate Change Mitigation Survey of Queensland Local Councils: Final Report. www.usq.edu.au/acsbd/publications/workingpapers

USQ Local Government Research Group: www.usq.edu.au/acsbd/research/localgov

Project : http://www.usq.edu.au/acsbd/projects/councils

Contact: Associate Professor Heather Zeppel ([email protected])