IMAGE: VisitNSW.comBroken Hill City Council is among the first to apply for funds aimed at projects tackling climate change.

As decisions only seem to be delayed on the federal level, local governments are assessing their immediate needs, forecasting their environmental futures and beginning to plan ahead.

The New South Wales State Government’s $1 million 'Building Resilience to Climate Change' grant program will help councils plan and fund their adaptive measures.

Broken Hill City Council has applied for grant funding to address its risks with a project to install solar power at the public pool.

The large solar heating system will take a big slice out of one of the city’s big energy costs – public pool heating.

The NSW Government fund was launched on a Productivity Commission finding that the local government sector had limited resources but serious needs as increased weather pattern variability looms.

So far, just over a dozen councils have applied for grants worth between $15,000 and $80,000 in the first round of the scheme, which is targeting work to help in extreme heat.