Climate Change: What's Next For Fremantle?

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Consultation has concluded.


We want to help build a deeper understanding of what climate change will mean for Fremantle. Capturing the feelings and concerns of our community is a key focus as it will allow us to better support you as the impacts increase.


In May 2019, Fremantle Council unanimously supported a letter from the Fremantle Youth Network and declared that the world is in a state of climate and biodiversity emergency.

To date around 1,765 jurisdictions in 30 countries have declared a climate emergency[1]. In Western Australia, 40 local governments have signed the WALGA Climate Change Declaration, representing 65% of WA’s population[2].

This is a global issue with local impacts and, alongside direct action, we need to help build understanding of these local impacts and what role the City can play. Whether you live, work in, or visit Freo, it's important to hear and understand the thoughts and concerns of our community.


Help shape the conversation. Please tell us more below before Sunday 18 October 2020.



We want to help build a deeper understanding of what climate change will mean for Fremantle. Capturing the feelings and concerns of our community is a key focus as it will allow us to better support you as the impacts increase.


In May 2019, Fremantle Council unanimously supported a letter from the Fremantle Youth Network and declared that the world is in a state of climate and biodiversity emergency.

To date around 1,765 jurisdictions in 30 countries have declared a climate emergency[1]. In Western Australia, 40 local governments have signed the WALGA Climate Change Declaration, representing 65% of WA’s population[2].

This is a global issue with local impacts and, alongside direct action, we need to help build understanding of these local impacts and what role the City can play. Whether you live, work in, or visit Freo, it's important to hear and understand the thoughts and concerns of our community.


Help shape the conversation. Please tell us more below before Sunday 18 October 2020.


Consultation has concluded.

  • Next Steps

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    At the meeting of 24 March 2021, Council adopted a recommendation on next steps regarding its climate change response. To view the meeting minutes click here.

    Next steps for the City

    Council resolved to focus the City’s efforts on pursuing climate emergency advocacy and reducing emissions from the City’s operations. These were the two most highly ranked actions that community members believed the City should take in response to climate change, as described in the engagement report.

    In practical terms, this will mean responding to state government issues papers and similar policy proposals as they are released, and continuing to partner with organisations such as the Cities Power Partnership and WALGA to find ways to collectively reduce emissions and raise awareness of climate change issues with other local governments.

    For its own operations, the City will continue its commitment to carbon neutrality, via implementing the Corporate Energy Plan and purchasing carbon offsets. The City will also continue to implement the actions outlined in the Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

    To find out more about what we're doing and the City's new Climate Change Position Statement, check out the City's website under the One Planet tab or click here.

    Next steps for individuals

    Our call for knowledge sharing as part of this survey was met with a great response, with more than 20 people nominating themselves to share their time and expertise with the community. While the City won't be hosting networking and knowledge-sharing events in the near future, if you're interested in sharing your contact details with others, please get in touch with us and we can connect you all via email.

    Alternatively if you are keen to get involved in existing opportunities for climate action, or find sustainability-minded local people to collaborate with, we encourage you to check out our Get Involved ideas or contact the following local organisations:

    • Ecoburbia: Beaconsfield based, Ecoburbia are keen to build a resilient local community
    • The Hub on SX: a brand new co-working space in Essex St., Fremantle, that’s focused on bringing together and supporting sustainability startups and entrepreneurs
    • Fremantle Fibonacci Centre: A collection of many different creatives and ethical entrepreneurs who often hold events, workshops and markets that aim to bring people together and foster a vibrant community
    • Enkel Collective: Enkel’s members are working on making the world a better place and would love for you to join them

    Thank you for passionately sharing with us during this project, your input and interest is much appreciated.

  • Item to Committee

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    An item regarding this project is going to the Finance, Policy, Operations and Legislation Committee (FPOL) Committee on Wednesday 10 March 2021.

    It provides Committee with an update on the recent community engagement and recommends the next steps:

    - progress additional engagement and capacity building for 2020/21 and 2021/22
    - progress implementation of the Corporate Energy Plan subject to budget availability
    - adopt a suggested Climate Emergency Position Statement for consistent communication of Council's positions.

    It's proposed that the second stage of engagement include continuing the seminar series online, a field trip and expanding our communications through existing channels. Online methods have been suggested to reduce the risk of COVID-related disruption.

    To find out more, view the meeting agenda here or visit the City's Agendas and Minutes page.

    Attending Council

    Council meetings are open to the public. Members of the public are welcome to attend or speak at council or committee meetings and you can find more information on this here. The meeting details are:

    Finance, Policy, Operations and Legislation Committee - Wednesday 10 March 2021, 6.00pm. North Fremantle Community Hall, 2 Thompson Road, North Fremantle.

  • Engagement findings compiled

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    The findings of this engagement have now been compiled and you can download a copy of the report here.

    What we heard

    Climate change is an important issue to 93% of survey respondents. Themes that consistently arose were the wide-reaching nature of the impacts, concern for future generations, deep concern with destruction and existential threat, a need to take responsibility and wanting a better future. For those who said it isn’t an issue for them, the main reason was concern with day-to-day issues or that climate change shouldn’t be a concern of Council.

    Lobbying state and federal governments for climate change action and adaptation was the top action that respondents believe the City of Fremantle should prioritise, followed by reducing the emissions of City operations. Many other suggestions for action were made.

    Please download the Community Engagement Report to find out more about the responses we received.

    Next steps

    The input we heard will be used to guide our response to engaging on this topic and a report will be presented to Council in early 2021.

    If you had an interest in knowing more and left a valid email address you'll be added to our database and kept informed of any upcoming events or programs, and any items that go to Council.