Page 22 - Tropic Magazine Issue 26

TROPIC • ENVIRONMENT

Green captial

ECO INVESTMENT
Could Cairns become the
‘green capital’ of Australia?

Words: Annabel Bowles
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Nestled among the Tropical North’s
thriving reefs and rainforests, rich in supports the Council’s investigation into
both beauty and renewable energy the matter would simultaneously reduce 1. Lakeland solar farm
2. Mt Emerald Wind Farm
sources, it’s easy to imagine Cairns as the fossil fuels and attract financial growth. 3. Baby Green Sea Turtle, Credit M. Turner
green capital of the country. Add to that “Attitudes across the globe are changing;
the region’s First Nations knowledge and more and more decisions are being
practice of natural resource management made not just based on economic Cooling the coast
and the vision appears attainable. benefits, but also the impacts to the
In a new plan that sows the seed for environment,” he said.
Cairns to become the capital of a “Smart “Advances in technology mean that
Green Economy” in Australia, Cairns today, economic development and
Regional Council wants to pivot the city environmental management can
to a more sustainable future. Currently complement each other. Becoming the
strategising a roadmap out of the capital of the Green Economy in Australia
COVID-19 pandemic, the Council believes could help diversify our economy, attract
a greener economy would provide a fresh new private and public sector investment, 3
selling point to tourists, as well as attract and create jobs and economic growth.”
new and varied investment. According to In its Capital of the Smart Green More than 60,000 green turtles
the latest Our Cairns Survey, it appears Economy in Australia prospectus, the nest on the Great Barrier Reef
local people agree. When asked to select Council forecasts national renewables each summer, forming a truly
statements that best described their investment to reach more than $186 spectacular wildlife migration.
future vision for Cairns, respondents billion by 2050, with solar and wind But if the northern shores can’t
chose “a green, tropical region that values accounting for 92 per cent of all power keep their cool in an ever-
our natural assets” and “a region with a generation by this time. Cairns is in a warming climate, the little eggs
diverse economy” above all else. unique position to capitalise on this are more likely to hatch female
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning firmly direction with its abundance of sun and turtles – which would create an
swell, right between the world-renowned imbalance in the species’ sex
and protected Great Barrier Reef and Wet ratio and ultimately threaten its
Tropics. survival. To preserve the world’s
Cairns Regional Council is seeking $1 largest population of green
million in State and Federal Government turtles, the Federal Government
funding to undertake a feasibility study recently launched a $5.9 million
on the city’s green industry potential. Green Turtle Research and
This research is also expected to secure Protection Program. The project
stakeholder support and develop an will engage Traditional Owners
implementation plan on initial objectives. and various conservation
organisations to conduct aerial
surveys and beach cooling trials
MORE: cairns.qld.gov.au over the next four years.
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22 • Tropic • Issue 26