ACT Labor is concerned that:• ACT’s Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI) is already a danger to the health and social and economic equity of affected Canberrans; and
• Unless a clear path to mitigation is implemented now, UHI will worsen as climate change accelerates and the ACT Government reduces Canberra’s urban sprawl by forcing 70% of new builds to occur within Canberra’s existing footprint; and
• goal 41 of the ACT’s climate change strategy -to reduce urban heat and improve liveability - is also in doubt; and
• the ACT Government is at risk of being in breach of Canberrans’ right to a healthy environment as covered by recent amendments to the ACT Human Rights Act.
ACT Labor notes that the ACT Government’s Urban Forest Strategy:
• recognises that UHI will lead to Increased energy consumption, elevated emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, compromised human health and comfort; impaired water quality and increased economic and social inequity; and
• incorporates a comprehensive framework for managing UHI; but
• does not contain a clear plan that can be adapted over time for implementing that framework.
ACT Labor recognises that UHI mitigation can only work through close cooperation with the communities directly affected by it