We did it! In a passion-filled meeting of Glen Eira Council on Tuesday night, held on Zoom and live-streamed to hundreds of Climate Emergency advocates who had been calling, emailing and texting their local councillors for weeks, Glen Eira Council voted not only to declare a Climate Emergency but to achieve carbon neutrality for corporate and community carbon emissions as soon as possible. In a vote of 7 in favour with two abstentions, Council also voted to put climate impacts at the core of Council operations, policies and decision-making processes. The Glen Eira Emergency Climate Action Network (GECAN) formed only in February this year had collected over 2,800 signatures from residents urging Council to take stronger local action to: - Accelerate corporate and community emissions reductions. - Climate impacts are at the core of Council operations, policies and decision-making processes. - Create a smart and connected city that is resilient against the impacts of climate change. - Ensure that our community is mobilised, informed, engaged and resilient. - Facilitate and support innovative community-based and led action on climate change, with a decentralised community ownership approach. Led by Councillors Athanasopoulos, Davey, Magee and Sztrajt the vote to declare a Climate Emergency was five in favour (supported by Councillor Delahunty), three abstentions (Councillors Cade, Esakoff, Silver) and one against (Councillor Hyams), pictured here. GECAN would like to acknowledge the incredible efforts of its team led by Belinda Haydon and Bruce Cutts to achieve this result. GECAN would also like to acknowledge the incredible support of the Jewish Climate Network during this campaign, and the many volunteers who collected signatures on the streets of Glen Eira before Covid19 made this impossible. Please take the time to send a thank you message to the Councillors who supported the Declaration of a Climate Emergency by clicking here. Open the following page and find the link to send your message: https://bit.ly/CGDCEDVictory Please also take the time to send a message to those Councillors who didn't vote in favour or abstained. They need to know that they can also change their mind and get behind the Declaration or they may not be re-elected over this issue! Open the following page and find the link to send your message: https://bit.ly/CGDCEDVictory Share the good news! Forward this message to your family, friends and neighbours, and celebrate the Council's decision on social media - you can see the Council's statement on their website- https://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/about-council/news/latest-news/glen-eira-declares-a-climate-emergency Stayed tuned, there will be opportunities to get involved and support Glen Eira to achieve carbon neutrality. Yours, in action for a safer climate, Belinda, Bruce, Ingrid, Mark, David, Mary, Rose, Sue, David, Sally, Jay, Felicity, Asher, David, Brett, Stuart, Graham, Paul, Adam, Rick, Helen and Thomas, on behalf of The Glen Eira Emergency Climate Action Network Website: www.gecan.org.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/gecan/ Subscribe to our mailing list: http://bit.ly/GECAN-Subscribe