In isolation, it is, of course, an idea we should both applaud and encourage and, in a sense, I do both.
Sadly, in a world changing as fast as ours, no idea or project can be considered in isolation, for as a friend recently said, everything, and he emphasised “everything”, is connected.
And so, reminding ourselves of the” butterfly principle” — when a butterfly flaps its wings in the South United States, we get a destructive windstorm in Australia — and so in reverse, what Shepparton’s BMX track causes to happen impacts events around the world.
That’s probably a simplified and longbow for some to draw, but in a world facing sharp increases in atmospheric temperatures, we have an acute social responsibility to make sure we don’t “flap our wings” here in Shepparton, making things difficult or even impossible for some unknown soul in, say, Nicaragua.
This newspaper recently reported that a $1.7 million contact had been awarded to a local firm to build a multi-use pavilion at the north Shepparton BMX complex.
The project, funded via the Victorian Government’s Regional Sporting Infrastructure Program, includes the new pavilion, an upgrade of the track, start hill and broadcasting improvements and upgrades to the lighting — all good, so far.
In supporting the motion put by Cr Fern Summer, Cr Ben Ladson said: “This facility will set us on the world stage for hosting international events”.
And as the motion was passed unopposed, and it appeared the councillors were unaware they were contradicting existing policies, their own policy.
Yes, in 2020, the council, led by the then mayor, Cr Seema Abdullah, declared a climate emergency, a decision that must, and I repeat must, filter through to and impact upon every decision the council makes.
Considering the implications of such a decision, there is no room for the creation of any event, or facility, that will encourage people to fly from all around the world to participate in any event, in this case BMX racing.
Several years ago, I listened as a German climate scientist spoke in Melbourne, pointing out that he had used at least half his personal annual carbon emissions budget in flying to and from Victoria.
The climate scientist had thought long and hard before making the trip but in being here for a few months, he felt that what he had much to learn from his Australian counterparts and they from him, justifying the trip.
No doubt that reasoning provided the scientist with some comfort, just as we all seek emotional comfort with similar justifications, but we are doing little more than deluding ourselves.
Addressing climate change is about controlling, that means reducing our carbon emissions in any way we can, and as we need to mitigate whenever and wherever possible, then setting our city up as an international attraction is clearly and unambiguously a fallacy, defying the intent of the 2020 declared climate emergency.
I applaud the idea of improving the city’s BMX facilities, but do wonder if we understand the implications and complications of making them so good that people would willingly and enthusiastically fly around the world to enjoy them.
Just last week, Mark Carter, the man behind Flight Free Australia, told me we can’t declare a climate emergency and then seek solutions and answers by looking through a business-as-usual lens.
That means, of course, we can no longer look at what is happening in Shepparton through a pre-climate change lens for the game has changed, and we need to step back, reappraise every decision and think about how we can thrive in a decidedly different world.
Australia’s annual per-capita emissions are about 15 tonnes, and rising, and although I walk wherever I can and always nearly always travel by train, my personal annual carbon emissions are, according to my calculations, about 13 tonnes.
Flying around the world for any purpose, particularly for something as relatively unimportant as a BMX race, is something we all need to contemplate and consider whether it is excessive and not in the broader wellbeing of you and I or, generally, life on earth.
Robert McLean is a former editor of The News.
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