One Wagga City councillor is hoping the local government body will take a stand against climate change by calling a state of emergency.
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Buoyed by the recent declaration of 11 NSW councils, councillor Vanessa Keenan will bring a motion to the next meeting on July 8.
"If council declares a climate emergency, it means that we recognise climate change poses a significant risk to Wagga, and will take significant steps to reduce our carbon emissions."
But Wagga resident John Westman has questioned whether it will be anything more than "a laughable attempt at playing politics".
"It's a waste of time. The council needs to get back to looking after the needs of the city, by taking care of its roads, its infrastructure and its amenities," he said.
"They're saying climate change is a global situation, so they won't be able to make a difference to it."
Councillor Keenan is however hopeful the motion will serve to lend validity to grassroots movements, eventually liberating the situation from politics altogether.
"What's actually starting to happen is the action is being driven by the community and the business sector, it's growing from the ground up not the top down," she said.
The plans have been welcomed by Dr Trudi Beck, organiser of Wagga's Fridays for the Future picnic protests.
"It's symbolic, but more importantly it's practical," she said.
"Calling a climate emergency means something different for every level of government but here in Wagga it will mean we can set a firm target for carbon neutrality."
Cr Keenan is confident the motion to declare a climate emergency will generate "enormous discussion in council", and is bracing for an equal measure of support and backlash.
"Discussion is a good place to start as long as it leads towards action," Cr Keenan said.
Should council approve the motion, Cr Keenan envisions another 12 months of affirmative action before a concrete plan is enacted.
"Once we've recognised there's a problem, we can begin advocating for Wagga at every level of government," she said.
For the past year, Dr Beck has been calling for the council to make reducing the city's carbon emissions its focus in every decision.
"Every [building] development that comes to council will need to have considered its carbon footprint, for example," she said.
But, Mr Westman has spoken in opposition of the necessity for such an action, saying it would be little more than lip-service to a global problem.
"All it'll do is make the council feel good, it's about politics not science."