Climate action/Ngā Mahi Āhuarangi
Our climate is changing. By working together and taking urgent action, we can help protect and adapt where we live, and make the most of the opportunities climate change brings.
Waitaha/Canterbury, like elsewhere in Aotearoa/New Zealand, faces climate-related risks such as floods, drought, heat waves, extreme weather, and sea level rise. There will also be new opportunities and we need to plan for how we make the most of those.
In the Our Future, Canterbury survey which ran in July and August, more than three-quarters of participants told us they think the region is affected by the impacts of climate change. View the Our Future Canterbury Report Jul-Aug 2023 (PDF 3.4MB)
Key community concerns we heard
- Health and wellbeing
- Air quality, healthy soils, and abundant freshwater
- Flooding and other climate risks to people and infrastructure in high-hazard zones
- Healthy ecosystems to build climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Good public transport and cycleways.
We are working on two climate action plans to help address climate change in Waitaha/Canterbury.
We have a key role to play in climate action. Many of the things we do already support communities to reduce and adapt to climate risk. We manage flood protection, provide public transport, and help protect and restore our region’s environment.
Through November we ran a follow-up campaign to "What’s our future, Canterbury", called “Let’s Pick a path”, where we wanted to know more about how you think climate hazards and risks, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction, should be managed in the Regional Policy Statement (RPS). Specifically, we wanted your feedback to help us decide on what climate change actions we should take.
The feedback you provided in July/August and again in November will influence what actions will be included in the climate action plans.
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
-
Prioritising our climate actions
We have a key role to play in climate action. We already support communities to reduce and adapt to climate risk, as well as managing flood protection, providing public transport, and helping protect and restore our region’s environment.
We need your feedback on where we should focus our climate actions in the coming years. The feedback you give us now will directly influence what actions will be included in the climate action plans. We are working on two plans to help address climate change in the region.
Our Climate Action Plan aims to identify climate actions that are either part of our statutory requirements or are good risk management, related to our responsibilities. We are collaborating with you, the community, and other stakeholders to create this plan. Our plan will outline the actions we need to take as a regional council and will inform a variety of council documents, including Long-Term Plans.
We are also working with local councils across Waitaha/Canterbury to develop a Canterbury Climate Partnership Plan. This plan will lay out how councils in Canterbury intend to work together to reduce the causes and impacts of climate change within the region. The challenge of climate change response means that we will only be successful if we all work together.
Key community concerns we heard from you in the previous engagement were:
- Health and wellbeing
- Air quality, healthy soils and abundant freshwater
- Flooding and other climate risks to people and infrastructure in high-hazard zones
- Healthy ecosystem-s to build climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Good public transport and cycleways.
What we can influence:
- Setting clear regional goals to adapt and respond to climate hazards and risks, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Directing what should be done to achieve those goals, and by whom
- Direction in the Regional Policy Statement to help mitigate and adapt to climate change, or to enable climate action.
-
Reducing our emissions
One of our key roles in climate action is reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the region.
We already support communities in reducing and adapting to climate risk, and we need your feedback on how climate hazards and risks, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction, should be managed in the Regional Policy Statement.
Key community concerns we heard from you in the previous engagement were:
- Health and wellbeing
- Air quality, healthy soils and abundant freshwater
- Flooding and other climate risks to people and infrastructure in high-hazard zones
- Healthy ecosystems to build climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Good public transport and cycleways.
What we can influence:
- How we can better support businesses and communities to reduce their emissions
- Whether or not there is a regional target to reduce emissions further than national targets
- Encouraging or discouraging the planting of exotic forests.
-
Climate-conscious development
One of our key roles in climate action is sustainable and climate-conscious development across the region.
We already support communities to reduce and adapt to climate risk, and we need your feedback on how climate hazards and risk, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction, should be managed in the Regional Policy Statement.
Key community concerns we heard from you in the previous engagement were:
- Health and wellbeing
- Air quality, healthy soils and abundant freshwater
- Flooding and other climate risks to people and infrastructure in high-hazard zones
- Healthy ecosystems to build climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Good public transport and cycleways.
What we can influence:
- Whether or not nature-based solutions are used to address a range of issues such as biodiversity loss, natural hazard risk, stormwater management, and emissions reduction
- Subdivision or land use change requirements including native vegetation requirements
- How climate change, natural hazards and waste minimisation are important considerations for the built environment impacts the affordability of new development.