Future funding for responding to climate change

We’re investigating a future levy to fund action in response to climate change.

Climate change is the issue of our time.

We are seeing increasingly frequent flooding, storms, fires and droughts, as well as melting ice sheets, sea level rise and changes to coastlines. Scientists and governments agree that we need to take urgent action now.

As a country, our greenhouse gases emissions are increasing. We want Canterbury/Waitaha to be resilient to the climate change impacts and extreme weather events that we are already seeing and to reduce further impacts by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

We all have a part to play in this. As the regional council we want to ensure we can support you and your communities, by taking action that will shape Canterbury now and in the future.

We will work with the community to develop funding principles and prioritise initiatives.

The levy will not be included in this Annual Plan 2022/23.


We’re investigating a future levy to fund action in response to climate change.

Climate change is the issue of our time.

We are seeing increasingly frequent flooding, storms, fires and droughts, as well as melting ice sheets, sea level rise and changes to coastlines. Scientists and governments agree that we need to take urgent action now.

As a country, our greenhouse gases emissions are increasing. We want Canterbury/Waitaha to be resilient to the climate change impacts and extreme weather events that we are already seeing and to reduce further impacts by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

We all have a part to play in this. As the regional council we want to ensure we can support you and your communities, by taking action that will shape Canterbury now and in the future.

We will work with the community to develop funding principles and prioritise initiatives.

The levy will not be included in this Annual Plan 2022/23.


  • What is the purpose of a levy?

    While we are making progress on climate action, we need to do more, and faster. How should we pay for this?

    Submissions to the Annual Plan have shown community support for a levy for responding to climate change. We need to understand why, how it should be funded (who pays and based on what criteria) and what initiatives you would like to see prioritised.

    In May 2019, our Council was the first in the country to declare a climate emergency. Since then, climate change resilience has continued to be incorporated across our activities, plans and decision-making processes.

    In our Long-Term Plan 2021–31 we proposed bold action for the region. We are developing a Climate Change Action Plan, which will foster an integrated approach to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These activities will also lead to better air quality, health and public transport.

  • What projects could be funded?

    We will be investigating how projects for adapting or building resilience to climate change can be funded by a specific levy, to recognise the collective benefit of tackling climate change together.

    We will work with the community to develop robust funding principles and prioritise initiatives.

    The levy is not included in this Annual Plan 2022/23.


Page last updated: 20 Jun 2022, 04:28 PM