ribbons of green?

report from the roundtable - 22 feb

A motion was moved that sought a report on the progress of the Shire's Ribbons of Green program.

Ribbons of Green was developed as a way to offset the Shire's fleet greenhouse gas emissions. I have concerns about this approach as the hierarchy should be to firstly avoid emissions, if that's not possible minimise emissions and as a last option offset emissions.

It's not that I don't support improvement of biodiversity outcomes, I most certainly do, but this program is part of our Carbon Management Plan and I'm not convinced that we are seeing significant gains in the reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions.

With the indulgence of the mover of the motion I asked that the motion be amended to include a measure of carbon offsets as part of the report back. If it's about offsetting carbon emissions I think council needs to be aware of exactly what we're achieving.

I'm pleased to say that my amendment to the motion was included and I look forward to learning more about the progress of the Ribbons of Green program and its impact on the reduction of emissions in the Shire.