By Matthew Sims
Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places is releasing an action plan outlining what needs to happen to allow western organisations to adapt to ongoing climate injustices.
The culmination of more than 12 months of work supported by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the plan is being launched during an online event on Tuesday, November 15 from 11am to 12pm.
Centre for Just Places executive director Susie Moloney said the plan is the result of a number of engagements with groups across the community health and community service sectors.
“It included engaging with over 44 different organisations,” she said.
“A lot of the organisations are really aware of how they have to adapt.
“Our central message is the climate justice issues puts at the forefront those who are going to be most impacted by climate change,” she said.
Two of Victoria’s air pollution ‘hot spot’ suburbs, Yarraville and Brooklyn, are located in the inner west and rank seventh and eighth in Australia for air pollution concentrations.
Jesuit Social Services’ 2021 Dropping off the Edge report also shows that the western suburbs experiences challenges in terms of overcrowding and housing stress.
Brimbank, Melton, Maribyrnong and Wyndham have an average summer urban heat island (UHI) reading 8 to 11 degrees hotter than non-urban area.
Ms Moloney said there needed to be more work undertaken to allow for service infrastructure to adapt to climate change.
“The state government is doing some work related to adaptation,” she said.
Ms Moloney said the plan will be used to advocate for further funding and support in leveraging for more collaborative action around climate justice issues from all levels of government, as the total spend on climate change was decreased by 40 percent in the 2022-23 state budget.
“There’s a lot more funding and support from the state government needed,” she said.
“A lot of the work that we’ve been doing is a lot of capacity building and literacy building.”
Details: events.humanitix.com/caplaunch
