'Make it a priority': Wagga Deputy mayor Jenny McKinnon backs climate action in wake of IPCC report

The latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warning immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is needed to avoid the worst of extreme weather events, comes as people in south-east Queensland and northern NSW continue to deal with floodwaters up to fourteen metres high.

Speaking to The Daily Advertiser from the NSW local government conference in Sydney, Cr McKinnon said sustainability and dealing with the local effects of climate change were high on the group's agenda.

"Basically the message ... was that in order for councils to really achieve things, they have to make it (climate action) a priority," she said. "Stop letting climate action be down the list of priority items."

Cr McKinnon said Wagga is "well-placed" to support industries which are crucial to the transition away from fossil fuels, such as solar and green hydrogen.

"My understanding is that the green energy technology is moving very, very fast," she said.

"It's a big possibility for Wagga in the not-too-distant future."

The climate panel said the world faces "unavoidable multiple climate hazards over the next two decades" if global warming even temporarily reaches 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.

They also urged governments to focus on adapting measures to reduce the effects of climate change, including fighting more frequent flooding by developing early warning systems and levees, and restoring wetlands and rivers.

Next week marks ten years since devastating floodwaters broke the banks of the Murrumbidgee River and forced the evacuation of about 8000 people from Central and North Wagga.

Wagga City Council finished upgrading the Murrumbidgee River levee system in March 2020 to protect residents from a one-in-one-hundred year level of flooding.

A Council spokesperson told The Daily Advertiser they have not yet considered the IPCC's findings but will consider the issues raised in the report with Council's own floodplain risk management committee.

Federal MP for Riverina Michael McCormack said it is important for government to "strike the right balance" between reducing emissions and supporting the region's economic growth.

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He said the federal government "continues to invest in climate adaptation and resilience measures", including through the $3.9 billion Emergency Relief Fund.

Labor disaster and emergency management spokesperson Murray Watt said the government "has still not spent a cent" of the fund on disaster relief or flood mitigation projects, despite gaining more than $800m in interest since December 2019.

Mr McCormack said $50m from the fund was spent in May 2021 on several flood mitigation infrastructure projects.

He said the main purpose of the fund was to grow a pool of money for future disaster recovery and preparedness, "particularly due to predictions that disasters are likely to increase in intensity and frequency in the future."

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