Victorian Climate Resilient Councils
CVGA are partnering with the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA) on the establishment of the ‘Victorian Climate Resilient Councils’ (VCRC) program which will guide councils through a clear step-by-step process to manage climate change risks and implement actions to manage the impacts to operations, assets and local communities.
The program will build capacity across the sector to implement sustained and coordinated responses to climate change risks and provide flexibility to meet the needs and local contexts of individual councils.
Program Pilots
As part of the program development, we are running two pilot projects:
The Adaptive Capacity Checklist pilot
This pilot project will:
For more information about the Adaptive Capacity Checklist pilot and how to join, please download the Adaptive Capacity Checklist pilot brief [PDF 368.8kb]
The Community Emergency Risk Assessment (CERA) Pilot
This pilot project will:
For more information about the CERA pilot and how to join, please download the CERA review pilot summary [PDF 349.2kb]
What impacts would the VCRC program respond to?
Climate change is causing more frequent and severe climate hazards and impacts which are already affecting council assets and operations and local communities.
Climate impacts include, but aren’t limited to:
As the climate continues to change, these impacts will grow, and costs will rise, but councils can minimise impacts by adapting their operations to better manage these risks.
What will the program include?
The program aims to support the local government sector to respond to, and plan for the impacts of climate change on council operations, assets and local communities.
For more information, head to WAGA's website.
The program will build capacity across the sector to implement sustained and coordinated responses to climate change risks and provide flexibility to meet the needs and local contexts of individual councils.
Program Pilots
As part of the program development, we are running two pilot projects:
The Adaptive Capacity Checklist pilot
This pilot project will:
- Develop the first step, "Goal Setting and Securing Support" of the Victorian Climate Resilient Councils program.
- Identify benchmarking, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting options for the VCRC program.
- Identify effective methods for engaging council leadership.
- Pilot updated Adaptive Capacity Checklist with councils that will benefit from gaining a greater understanding of how to design an adaptation response that works with their council organisation's strengths and capacities.
For more information about the Adaptive Capacity Checklist pilot and how to join, please download the Adaptive Capacity Checklist pilot brief [PDF 368.8kb]
The Community Emergency Risk Assessment (CERA) Pilot
This pilot project will:
- Collate and summarise evidence about how and why climate change risks and impacts should and can influence municipal emergency management planning and response.
- Collaborate with partners and key stakeholders to develop an approach which enables consideration of climate change in the existing CERA tool's framework.
- Pilot updated approach with councils undergoing CERA review process
- Inform the development of the fourth step "Implement priority responses" of the Victorian Climate Resilient Councils program.
For more information about the CERA pilot and how to join, please download the CERA review pilot summary [PDF 349.2kb]
What impacts would the VCRC program respond to?
Climate change is causing more frequent and severe climate hazards and impacts which are already affecting council assets and operations and local communities.
Climate impacts include, but aren’t limited to:
- Impacts on residents from more frequent heat waves
- Disruption to council services from more frequent and severe storm, heat, flood or fire events
- Maintenance and future design of assets such as local parks, drains, buildings and roads facing increased temperatures, flash flooding, drought, sea level rise.
- Increasing bush and grass fire risks associated with urban fringe development
- Decline in natural environment due to drought, increased average temperatures and extreme events.
- Associated impacts such as bushfire smoke, power outages, food supply impacts, disruptions to local businesses, tourism and jobs.
As the climate continues to change, these impacts will grow, and costs will rise, but councils can minimise impacts by adapting their operations to better manage these risks.
What will the program include?
The program aims to support the local government sector to respond to, and plan for the impacts of climate change on council operations, assets and local communities.
For more information, head to WAGA's website.