Katherine Town Council's upcoming climate change policy will focus on waste management, future projects and water usage in the town, as the world experiences global warming.
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2020 was Australia's fourth-warmest year on record, and the NT's fifth-warmest.
Alderman Toni Tapp Coutts said the council can play a role in combating climate change and planning for a warmer future via the policy, which she expects to be released by June.
"Council has to be aware of the impacts of climate change," she said.
"We need to do some long term planning on how developments will evolve over the next 10-15 years."
Ms Tapp Coutts said the policy would focus on council facilities and projects being carried out in a more sustainable way.
She singled out improving the town's recycling and the planned Katherine East hub as future projects the policy will apply to.
"We have to look at emissions from our waste management facility particularly," she said.
"We have to look at more sustainable buildings with solar power and that sort of thing in our facilities.
"Council needs to really keep on the front foot... about how we want this town to develop."
Ms Tapp Coutts said the climate change policy will also provide guidelines on water management in the town as concerns about water security grow.
"The use of open space and sporting facilities, we really need to factor that in.
"The biggest thing in the community will always come back to water... we have to take into our consideration, is it going to cost us more and more to water our parks.
"How do we put in much more sustainable green infrastructure that's low cost and low impact, these are all the conundrums."
The KTC has been criticised for its environmental standards after its handling of the 2019 Territory Day tyre fire.
Ms Tapp Coutts said the current council isn't solely to blame for the tyre fire, but the incident highlighted the importance of forward planning to protect Katherine's environment.
Local weather observer and former Bureau of Meteorology employee Jim Mathieson said the policy will definitely need to consider water security as Katherine's weather becomes more erratic in a warming climate.
"Our climate is going to be a lot more variable rather than necessarily hotter or colder, or wetter or drier," he said.
"It's the extremes that are getting people."
Mr Mathieson said the town's already precarious water supply will be at greater risk as rainfall becomes more variable in the future.
"We're relying on river water and cleaning the bore water... we've got a general problem with water supply," he said.
"We've had a couple of very lousy wet seasons... it'll be erratic.
"They've got to think seriously about the viability of our water supply."
Katherine and RAAF Base Tindal sweltered through a record equalling hot 2020 despite La Nina being declared in the second half of the year.
The Bureau of Meteorology released its 2020 climate report last week which shows Katherine and surrounding areas also saw below average rainfall last year.
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