Story Title: A Greener City for Perth
Episode: Six
Date: November 8th 2009
Presenter: Neville Passmore

The City of Perth is taking the lead in countering the effects of carbon emissions through a major tree-planting program. The Council agreed to plant 85,000 trees in rural Western Australia to help offset carbon emissions generated by vehicles using City-owned, off-street car parks.

City of Perth – Carbon Offset Program

• With global warming being a hot topic in today’s society, it’s been identified that motor vehicles are one of the most significant contributors to energy consumption and harmful gas emissions.
• In the city of Perth the public parking enterprise caters for an amazing 5.2 million customers per annum, and ancillary services supporting the use of cars such as parking lots are considered to be a negative association in environmental terms.
• The City of Perth is now taking the lead by countering the effects of carbon emissions through a major tree-planting program. Exactly 85,000 trees in rural Western Australia will be planted to offset carbon emissions generated by vehicles using City-owned off street car parks.
• This will be enough to reduce the 15,600 tonnes of CO2 generated every year.
• Improving local and global air quality is crucial in the City of Perth and the issue of climate change is taken very seriously.
• The City of Perth Parking has undertaken several strategies to reduce energy consumption in its parking business and encourages its customers to think green.
• Implemented in most car parks these days, is the use of low energy lighting and natural ventilation, and out on the streets they have solar powered parking metres.
• Recently there has been a vast increase of motorbike and bicycle parking facilities.
• Cyclists can enjoy plenty more space around the city and low parking fees.
• And all this goes back into the community; funds raised from parking activities are also contributed to free public transport in the city, again reducing emissions from CBD traffic.
• The City of Perth Carbon Off Set Program also compliments the City’s already established street and parks tree planting program which has recently added some 460 additional trees to the existing 7,500 stock.

So the City is doing their bit, but there are plenty of things we can do to contribute to the environment. Like car pooling with your office colleagues- Did you know the City of Perth now offer a substantial discount to car poolers at 3 of our most popular car parks in the city?- or catching public transport. You will be surprised what a difference it can make.

Contact
City of Perth
Ground Floor, Council House,
27 St George’s Terrace, Perth.
Phone: 9461 3333
Email: info.city@cityofperth.wa.gov.au
Website: www.perth.wa.gov.au