Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils: Heat Smart Resilience Framework

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) has called for an urgent review of heatwave planning with the release of its Heat Smart Resilience Framework that outlines 25 recommendations for building resilience to extreme heat.

To build resilience to heatwaves, the Framework suggests that Australia must:

  • Measure heat impacts: As identified by the NSW Treasury the impacts of heat are known to be significant but are not well measured. Understanding the scale and nature of the issue is critical to ensure we can address it appropriately.
  • Reduce urban heat via the planning system: Reduce the severity of heatwaves by reducing emissions and mitigating urban heat islands via the state planning system. Urban design must go beyond urban greening to include measures such as orientation, cool materials, water, and airflow.
  • Build homes and infrastructure to function in a hotter climate: Ensuring new housing is designed for future climates and can maintain survivable temperatures without air-conditioning as an important first step. It is also important to improve the heat-resilience of existing housing stock and critical infrastructure.
  • Heatwave planning and preparedness campaigns: Annual campaigns to ensure local organisations and communities have the knowledge and tools to prepare for extreme heat events and adapt (their business operations and homes) to a hotter climate.
  • Practical assistance for at-risk communities: Heat in Western Sydney can reach life-threatening levels in summer. It is important to support the community by providing free heat refuges, community transport, check-ins for vulnerable individuals, and energy rebates for those most at-risk.

More information here

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