Low Carbon Living Australia’s Director, John Merson has just completed a national tour as part of the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL)s Expo circuit, highlighting the work LCL-Blue Mountains members have done to reduce their carbon usage and costs to address our climate crisis. 

Titled ‘How can we achieve a zero-carbon future?’, the event showcased the results from over 140 research projects, undertaken during the CRCLCL’s seven year life span. These now provide a comprehensive evidence base to enable government and industry to meet their carbon reduction and energy efficiency targets. 

CRCLCL CEO Professor Prasad said, “We are on track to meet our founding target of a cumulative reduction in carbon emissions of 10 mega tonnes by 2020 – a milestone we’ve achieved through the combined impact of all of our research projects.” 

“It’s time to take our research to a broader audience - we want Australians to see how our research has progressed low carbon living across all aspects of urban life.”

“Our research has contributed to changing the way we build our cities and manage them in the face of climate change, increased heatwaves and human demand on energy, waste and water,” concluded Professor Prasad.

As we understand more about how the climate emergency will affect different parts of society, research will become increasingly important. For those living in community housing, it will require substantial investment from local governments to ensure their housing stock meets the needs of their tenants. A CRCLCL project at Wollongong University, ‘Mainstreaming Low Carbon Retrofits in Community Housing’ focuses on ensuring those changes are the most cost effective for all parties concerned.  

In conjunction with LandCorp, Curtain University in Perth is installing a living laboratory in the redevelopment of an industrial precinct in Fremantle. The East Village project will provide support for 36 townhouses as peer to peer trading of energy and water and the use of blockchain technology become normalised. 

Moving away from the domestic marketplace, Melbourne University is identifying areas in which critical infrastructure in cities can be made more resilient in the face of extreme weather. The Future Cities research program works with four local councils in Melbourne to design and initiate post-carbon outcomes and ‘adaptive-mitigation’ pathways. 

Attending the CRCLCL Expo on behalf of LCL Blue Mountains was Program Coordinator, Annabel Murray, who found the event provided excellent opportunities for networking and collaboration. Two new regions are interested in adopting the Low Carbon Living Australia program and new links were initiated with Sydney City Council, Landcom in Parramatta and with Transport NSW.   

Additionally, following an introduction to the producers of the CRCLCL’s reality TV show ‘Renovate or Rebuild’, LCL-Australia is now listed as a resource on the show’s website. The impetus behind the show is to empower emissions conscious homeowners to utilise the latest technology and research, when making improvements to their dwellings. 

As the Paris 2020 deadline approaches, it’s vitally important we move the climate conversation from a preoccupation with the nature of change, to one that prioritises action, collaboration and equitable solutions. LCL-Australia is very proud to be part of the CRCLCL family and we promise to continue to keep you across all the latest developments, as breakthroughs come in.