The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale acknowledges that:

• Evidence shows that climate change is occurring;
• Climate change will continue to have significant effects on the Western Australian environment, society and economy, and the Local Government sector.
• Human behaviours, pollution and consumption patterns have both immediate and future impacts on the climate and environment.
• As a Local Government, it is part of our role to mitigate and manage the impacts of climate change on our community.

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale supports the:

• Environmental, social and economic benefits of addressing climate change immediately.
• Opportunity for Local Government to demonstrate leadership in climate change management at a community level.
• Development of equitable and implementable State and Commonwealth strategies for climate change management.

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale commits from date of signing to:

• Continue to implement and report against the Shire’s 2015 Climate Change Strategy and Local Action Plan.
• In conjunction with the community, develop an updated Climate Change Strategy and Local Action Plan within two years of this declaration.
• Encourage, empower and assist where possible the local community and local businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
• Support WALGA to work with State and Federal Government to ensure achievement of greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets as set out in key National and International agreements.
• Support WALGA to work with State and Federal Government to implement key actions and activities for climate change management at a local level.
• Work with key stakeholders within the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale to ensure achievement of the actions set out in the 2015 Local Action Plan, and which may be set out in future Local Action Plans on Climate Change.
• Assess the locally specific risks associated with climate change and implications for our services, and identify areas where appropriate mitigation and/or adaptation strategies should be developed and implemented.
• Ensure that, at appropriate review intervals, our climate change Action Plans/policies/strategies are reviewed and amended to incorporate the latest climate science, and to reflect the climate change management priorities and progress achieved to date.
• Monitor the progress of our adaptation and/or mitigation actions and communicate our achievements to the Councils and Community.