Climate Change

Climate change is emerging as a vital issue for our community, with recent scientific research observations showing that societies and ecosystems are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change.

South Australia’s temperatures are increasing and rainfall is decreasing. For the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges region this means a general warming and drying trend. Identified impacts of these changes include:

• Higher temperatures – including more extremely hot days (over 35oC) and heat waves.
• More frequent very high and extreme fire danger days.
• Decreased flows in water supply catchments (including the Murray-Darling).
• Increased flood risk placing pressure on stormwater infrastructure.
• Shifts in conditions affecting viability of native plants and animals.
• Increased coastal erosion and storm surges.

For more information about Australia’s future climate, view the CSIRO website.

Our climate change policy is to lead our community in response to the risks and opportunities posed by climate change and to enable climate change resilience into the future.

The City of Marion, in partnership with the community, will actively respond to climate change by implementing two closely related strategies:

• Abatement/Mitigation – a focus on reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere by implementing active measures such as improving energy efficiency, using renewable and low emission technologies, and offsetting emissions to help avoid future impacts of climate change beyond what is already projected; and
• Adaptation – to address the climate change that is already projected to occur by increasing, as far as possible, our capacity to cope with the impacts of climate change, including variability and extreme events.

The City of Marion has endorsed a Carbon Neutral Plan that sets out the steps council will take to be carbon neutral for its own operations by 2030. This Plan builds on good progress delivered by the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Plan.