There was wild cheering in the council chamber, and every councillor took a bow, as Armidale Regional Council declared a climate emergency at Wednesday's council meeting.
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Greens councillor Dorothy Robinson drove the motion which called on the council to "acknowledge our local and global communities are facing a climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government".
Council has voted to prepare a report by February 2020, with input from a working group of the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee and the community, on current moves and any additional future actions that can be undertaken to reduce greenhouse emissions.
By 2030, council is aiming to offset any greenhouse emissions, to stem its contribution to any rise in global temperatures.
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It will also call on the community to adapt to current and anticipated climate change impacts.
Council has also agreed to encourage other local councils, that have not already done so, to take similar action to reduce greenhouse emissions and protect the climate; and lobby state and federal governments for urgent action on climate change.
The move follows a similar decision by Glen Innes Severn Council last month, which became the smallest and most rural local government in the state to make such a declaration.
At last week's Local Government NSW conference, a vote to "proclaim a climate emergency" was narrowly passed 51 votes to 49.
Cr Murray said the discussions around coal-fired power would change if hot weather puts a strain on supplies and people couldn't use their air conditioners.
"I don't think it is a climate emergency, we know the climate is changing ... we've seen climate change since the last ice age," he said.
While he acknowledged the climate was changing, he believed there needed to be more consideration about what actions were taken.
