Port Stephens Council votes to remove carbon emissions targets

PORT Stephens Council has voted to suspend Carbon Neutral and Net Zero emissions targets for at least the next five years.

At the council meeting on Tuesday 8 July, the Emissions Reduction Action Plan was on the agenda for discussion.

By offsetting emissions, Port Stephens has reduced its carbon footprint by 40 percent since the plan was implemented in 2021.

The recommendation was that the council adopt a plan to achieve Net Zero Emissions by the year 2050, with an interim target of 50 percent reduction by 2030.

Mayor Leah Anderson moved that the item be deferred for a more thorough discussion at a later time, citing the “need for further engagement with the community on this before we make changes.”

“There are things people are concerned about around the costs of moving from Carbon Neutral to Net Zero,” she said.

“I think we need some time as a team to talk about this.”

The motion was not passed, however, and an alternative was put forward by Cr Mark Watson.

“Given the relatively small amount of the Council’s emissions, the global impact of pursuing Net Zero is minimal,” he said.

“At the same time, the financial costs could be substantial and ongoing.”

The alternative moved that the Council suspend Carbon Neutral or Net Zero targets for a period of at least five years and reallocate finances to local environment activities and roads.

“Right now, the public is not concerned with Net Zero emissions,” said Cr Watson in his summation.

“They want us to focus on what we were elected to do – fix our roads.”

The motion prompted heated debate.

While supporting the alternate motion, Cr Ben Niland stated, “I’m not saying we shouldn’t do something.”

“Local environmental efforts are sensible and practical things to do.

“[But] the Net Zero thing in Australia is costing us an absolute bomb.”

Cr Peter Francis opposed the alternate motion.

“If everyone does their part, we will overcome this climate insanity,” he said.

Cr Giacomo Arnott praised the efforts of council staff who have been involved in the implementation and reporting on the Emission Reduction Action Plan, lauding the progress that has been made.

“They’ve done a very good job in meeting our Carbon Neutrality target,” he said.

The motion was passed 5 votes to 4, with councillors Watson, Niland, Paul Le Mottee, Chris Doohan and Nathan Errington in favour, and councilors Francis, Arnott, Roz Armstrong and Mayor Anderson opposed.

By Lindsay HALL