A local council has pushed its residents to become vegetarian as part of its plan to rescue its suburbs “from the brink of climate and ecological collapse”.
Melbourne’s Yarra Council, responsible for large inner-city suburbs such as Richmond, Collingwood and Fitzroy, voted unanimously to approve its 81-page Climate Emergency Plan on Tuesday night.
The 2024-2030 plan recommends council residents “take action on the climate emergency” by switching to a plant-based diet, using more active public transport and “consuming resources consciously”.
“There is substantial evidence to suggest that emissions associated with current dietary patterns – in particular the high and increasing rate of consumption of animal products – will likely make it impossible to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” says the plan, seen by the Herald of the Sunhe claimed.
“It is widely understood that a shift towards plant-based diets is critical to responding to the climate emergency.”
More specifically, the plan singled out deforestation, methane emissions from livestock, transportation and refrigeration as the main negative impacts of “consumption of animal products.”
The council has also recommended that residents shift their retirement plans and banking to companies that avoid investments in fossil fuels.
Yarra Council has previously made headlines for its “conscientious” actions, including introducing a $115 “rubbish tax” and refusing to fly the Australian flag.
Yarra City Council (pictured) voted unanimously on Tuesday night to approve its 81-page Climate Emergency Plan
In the plan, the council called on its residents to switch to a vegetarian diet and use public and active transport more (pictured, Fitzroy)
Their new demands are part of a broader effort to limit climate change and “decolonize” Melbourne’s landscape.
The council says the plan is its “assurance that we have heard the calls for climate action and a more equitable and just society.”
“For the Council, consideration of the climate emergency must be integrated into all decision-making, so that our assets, services, operations and policies actively reduce emissions,” he said.
Some of the goals outlined in the plan include a 20 percent increase in people traveling by scooter and bicycle by 2027, and 40 percent by 2032.
The plan also shares the council’s commitment “to its formal relationship with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung” – the local Indigenous people – by “integrating Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung knowledge and practices into the ways we care for country”.
‘To move forward, we must look back. Across the country, traditional owners’ knowledge and practices are being adopted to inform and improve land management and promote sustainability…
“We need to change the narrative and the way we look at our environment, adjusting our vision to align with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung knowledge and practices, passed down through stories,” the plan states.
Yarra City Council was one of the first in Australia to declare a climate emergency and became the first council in Victoria to be certified carbon neutral in 2012.
The council’s new demands are part of a broader effort to limit climate change and “decolonise” Melbourne’s landscape (pictured, Fitzroy)
In its Climate Emergency Plan, the council sets a target of planting 200 native trees each year, with the specific aim of providing winter feeding opportunities for the grey-headed flying fox and making progress towards native wildlife.
He says the focus on native vegetation “will provide suitable habitat for our native wildlife while minimizing resource-intensive maintenance practices.”
“An adequate response to the climate emergency involves rethinking our relationship with nature. It means addressing the damage done to the country since colonisation and working to remedy it with the knowledge and support of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung,” the plan states.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Yarra City Council for comment.