Hayley Hass

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME APPLICANT: HAYLEY HASS Question 1 What measurable outcomes, targets and key performance indicators does Noosa Council use to assess the effectiveness of its Climate Emergency declaration and the expenditure incurred in delivering associated climate change, climate resilience, sustainability and emissions reduction activities, including Councils Carbon Reduction Project Officer? Response provided by Director Strategy & Environment, Kim Rawlings Thank you for your question. Since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, Noosa Council has endorsed a Climate Change Response Plan and a Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan, as well as supported the Regional Climate Action Roadmap developed in partnership with Sunshine Coast Council. Each of these plans contain a range of strategic priorities, targets, adaptation outcomes, and actions that Council uses to measure progress in responding to growing climate change risks. In addition, Council’s Corporate Plan 2023-2028 includes key objectives, projects and performance measures related to climate change response. This includes both measuring emissions reduction and efforts to build resilience. Progress in delivering Council’s Corporate Plan is reported on annually. Projects and objectives which relate to climate response are then reflected down to Council’s annual Operational Plan which is reported on quarterly. Reports on Councils carbon footprint and monitoring of initiatives to reduce emissions are reported publicly to Council. In addition Council provided an update on progress delivering its Climate Change Response Plan at the General Committee on 16 December 2024. This included measuring progress on governance priorities and targets, as well as estimates on expenditure and external grant funds received since endorsement of the Plan. Council is working on developing a live, interactive and public online reporting platform, which intends to track progress on individual actions in the Climate Change Response Plan to inform the community of progress and strengthen transparency and accountability.