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Climate change and environment

Victorian councils undertake a range of activities to protect and enhance their local environment, reduce energy use and emissions, and to adapt to a changing climate.

Victorian councils have a strong track record of delivering nation-leading work to reduce emissions and increase organisational and community resilience to climate impacts.

The MAV recognises the unique role councils can play in delivering place-based solutions and building the social licence for rapid climate action. We advocate for improved resourcing, policy and regulatory frameworks that can help councils to enhance and accelerate the transition to net zero.

To learn more, read the MAV’s  Climate Policy Position (PDF - 153KB)

Current priorities

We support councils’ climate and environmental activities and objectives through policy analysis, advice and advocacy, project support and management, and by building collaborative relationships with other levels of government and key stakeholders.

Current areas of focus include:

  • Climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Resilience and recovery
  • Environment protection reforms
  • Stormwater management reforms
  • Marine and coastal strategy.

We also work closely with the Victorian Greenhouse Alliances on joint advocacy and projects.

MAV-hosted organisations

We host and support two local government associations that are focused on achieving positive environmentally sustainable outcomes in the built enviornment (CASBE) and for Port Phillip Bay (ABM).

For more information visit:

Submissions and briefs

On behalf of the local government sector, we prepare submissions and briefs on a range of environment-related topics.

Our publicly available submissions are available on the MAV submissions page.

Victorian councillors and council staff can also access member-only information on our Members Only Environment Page.

Committees and reference groups

We represent local government on numerous high-level advisory and reference groups, including the:

  • Flood Leadership Committee and Working Group
  • Melbourne Water Urban Planning and Development Strategic Collaboration Group
  • Melbourne Water Healthy Waterways Strategy Advisory Group
  • Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) Waste, Environment and Climate Officer Networks.

We also convene a number of committees and working groups to help inform our work and build capacity within the sector, including:

Resources

Further information

The MAV recognises climate change increases the frequency and intensity of hazards.

Visit our emergency management page to learn more about how we support councils to undertake their emergency management responsibilities.

Engage with us

Emma Lake
Manager, Climate Futures and Resilience

Cana Kuyucak
Senior Policy Adviser, Climate Futures & Resilience

climate@mav.asn.au