What is the Whitsunday Climate Change Innovation Hub?

The Whitsunday Climate Change Innovation Hub is an initiative of Whitsunday Regional Council and is the only one of its kind in the country. The Climate Hub’s main focus is to develop innovative, practical solutions to help the Whitsunday region manage the impacts of climate change, both present and future. In doing so, the Hub acts as a think tank to gather and share knowledge with the community to build resilience in our region, and throughout Australia and across the globe.

The goals of the Climate Hub include:

• Be valuable to the Whitsunday and global community for the services the Hub Provides  
• Enable our community to be a leader in climate change mitigation 
• Aid the Whitsunday community to proactively prepare for Climate Change
• Deliver innovative solutions that are practical, feasible, affordable and can be implemented by our community today
• Attract the world’s leading climate change practitioners, researchers and solution providers to work within our community  
• Share the Hub’s research and findings often, to build momentum for climate change mitigation and adaptation world-wide

The Climate Hub works with Councils, State and Federal Government agencies, research organisations and the community to identify projects that will facilitate change or provide knowledge. 

Your WCC sits on the Whitsunday Regional Council appointed advisory board for this project.

Climate Hub Projects

The Climate Hub focuses on a variety of projects that provide the greatest benefit to the Whitsunday community. A key project designed to mitigate climate change and protect the Reef is the Whitsunday Healthy Heart Project.

This project was developed to decarbonise the local tourism sector, whilst achieving Sustainable Destination accreditation for the region. 

The aims of this collaborative four-year project are to:

• Improve collaboration on climate change mitigation in the region 
• Build resilience to climate change
• Recruit a minimum of 80 tourism operators / related businesses to actively measure and reduce their carbon footprint
• Make the Whitsundays a certified Sustainable Destination
• Define barriers to decarbonisation and identify real-life solutions
• Create green marketing opportunities 
• Enhance recovery from COVID-19

Climate Hub Events

The Climate Hub organises and runs regular public events (free) that support the community’s efforts to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The most recent event, billed the Green Electricity Event, presented the latest local renewable energy options available to reduce your environmental footprint. 

The event included speakers from:

Edify – Whitsunday Solar Farm and power-purchase-agreements (PPA)

Ergon – Clean energy program for home and business

Green Energy Technologies – The business case for solar in the home and business

There is plenty of opportunity for individuals to get involved in the Climate Hub.

For more information on the Climate Hub, visit their website  HERE