The Greens Mithra Cox said climate change was a mammoth task to solve and needed fast action, involving many forms of renewable energy if future generations were to have a livable planet.

"It's going to require a major economic and industrial transformation within our lifetimes and ideally within the next decade," she said.

"But the alternative does not bear thinking about. The sea level rise predictions for Wollongong, if we remain on the current emissions trajectory that we're currently on is three metres by 2100. My kids will still be alive."

She also took aim at the behaviour of people at the Thirroul forum saying she would not engage with people who "heckle an Aboriginal elder... shouts over the top of anyone with a different opinion, or sends fake information mocked up in Microsoft paint and claim it as evidence".

"If you don't care about the impacts of climate change on my generation and the generations to come, then don't expect me to engage on a deep level," she said.

Story by Kate McIlwain in the Illawarra Mercury, 9 October 2023.

The council had an important role to play in reducing community emissions, Cr Mithra Cox said, through empowering people rather than telling them what to do.

"There is a really big role for council in ensuring that we can have all-electric homes, making sure that the electricity connections that they have in the kitchens are good enough that they have induction stoves," Cr Cox said.

"It's also ensuring that new buildings, particularly apartments, have electricity in the car parks in basements should people want to switch to electric vehicles.
"When you build an apartment, it's going to be there for the next 50, 70 or 80 years. The decisions we're going to be making are going to be with us for a long time."

Cr Cox also noted that the Whyte's Gully tip was the biggest source of the council emissions and that she didn't feel they could capture 100 per cent of them by 2030.

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 18 September 2023.

The company which sparked a furore at the old copper slag dump at Primbee is having its licence revoked, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said.

The Environment Protection Authority has moved to revoke Mimosa's pollution licence, saying it is not longer needed for the activities covered.

"The EPA wrote to the licensee to prepare and submit a scoping report to describe the activities to be undertaken at the premises and the proposed future use of the site," its notice states.

"The scoping report [submitted] proposed a number of activities for the premises including, but not limited to, the use of virgin excavated natural material to cover areas of exposed copper slag, and the proposed emplacement of alternative wastes not permitted to be received at the premises."

In January Wollongong Greens councillor Cath Blakey said the pollution licence shouldn't be able to hang around "like a zombie".

Story by Ben Langford in the Illawarra Mercury, 17 August 2023.

(Previously: Wollongong toxic waste site cleared prompting pollution fears for nearby homes, public wetland)

Wollongong City councillor Cath Blakey has a motion at Monday night's council meeting to write to Transport for NSW requesting secure bike sheds at Illawarra stations. The priority stations would be North Wollongong, Wollongong, Thirroul and Dapto.

Cr Blakey said a lack of secure places to leave a bike discourages people from using them.

"I've done it myself - I avoid riding to the station unless I take my bike on the train with me," Cr Blakey said.

"But I know people complain about that sometimes because our trains aren't really designed to have lots of bikes on them. You can block access to the stairs and the exit. I've seen people abuse cyclists for it but when there's no safe place to leave your bike that is the problem. It's a real barrier for people to ride to the station. A secure bike shed would be quite a cheap and really effective way to improve integrated transport."

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 28 July 2023.

1 March 2023

Greens Housing spokesperson Jenny Leong MP has called on Shadow Planning Minister and Member for Wollongong Paul Scully MP,  to make a clear commitment to higher affordable housing targets, given Wollongong Council’s ALP councillors joined with Liberal councillors at Monday night to vote down the Greens proposal for strong affordable housing targets instead settling on very weak targets.

"It's over a decade since the Copper Smelter closed down and the fact that this EPL (Environment Protection Licence) is hanging around like a zombie that can be resurrected is really concerning."

"That licence shouldn't just be allowed to hang around for decades."

Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong.

Story by Nick McLaren at ABC News Illawarra, 9 Jan 2023.

Story by Ben Langford in the Illawarra Mercury, 30 December 2022.

(Updated 17 August 2023: Primbee copper slag dump has its 'zombie licence' revoked by EPA)

Wollongong City Councillor Mithra Cox is calling for council to update its emissions target in line with that of the federal government.

The council has had the net zero by 2050 target for years but Cr Cox believes the council does not hold all policy levers to achieve it.

Cr Cox said when the council adopted the 2050 target, it was a net zero target for 2050 for the whole city with no set midway mark they had to meet to show their progress.

"Since then the government has announced an ambitious interim target on the way to 2050, which is a 43 per cent emissions cut by 2030," she said.

The councillor said the move by the federal government while ambitious, is logical and significant given that it'll ensure that the country's on the right track. "It makes sense for all three levels of government to harmonise and be on the same track to net zero emissions."

Cr Cox believes it will be easier for a country as a whole to be moving at the same pace. "Our community has told us how deeply they care about they environment especially after already feeling the severe impacts of climate change in the form of floods and bushfires," she said. Cr Cox believes the community is sensing the urgency of the situation and urging the government to act quickly. The council, Cr Cox said, is looking to work with other levels of government to achieve the target. "The steelworks is the biggest carbon emitter in Wollongong but we don't have the jurisdiction to change that so all levels of government need to work together to do what's good for the environment," she said. There is also a 80 per cent renewable energy target to be achieved by 2030.

"If we are involved in supporting that target and having all of our electricity use switched to renewables in that time, that would get us a really significant way to achieving that target, even though Council itself is not able to do it alone," she said.

Cr Cox said it is not just the government that needs to work as a whole but the community and businesses.

Story by Zaina A Sayeda at the Illawarra Mercury, 14 October 2022.