Waitematā takes low carbon action

"This plan is a positive step towards the region's transformation to an energy-resilient low carbon city," says Deborah Yates, Waitemat? Local Board member overseeing the plan. Photo / Getty Images

Waitematā has made itself the first local board to draw out a localised carbon reduction plan, as part of the greater regional 10-year Energy Resilience and Low Carbon Action Plan.

It was launched at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on 4 November. The institution is said to showcase the energy resilience practices that can be optimal both for an organisation and for the environment. Attendees at the launch even got to look at the museum's rooftop solar panels.

The Low Carbon Action Plan looks at how local communities can reduce greenhouse emissions through smart energy use, recycling, transportation options, local food sourcing and green spaces.

"This plan is a positive step towards the region's transformation to an energy-resilient low carbon city," says Deborah Yates, the Waitematā Local Board member overseeing the plan.

"We will also be launching a Low Carbon Community Network, which will bring together organisations, businesses, individuals and council staff to share their knowledge and work together on making better use of energy and reducing carbon."

Another local board member who helped compile the plan, Rob Thomas, comments "now more than ever there is a concerted global urgency to support communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb the rise in global temperatures," and that "more New Zealand communities need to take up the challenge."

Waitematā Local Board Chair Shale Chambers says Waitematā is "an environmentally astute community," and that local businesses and schools are already trying to get in sync with the plan.

"The whole community needs to get behind making the changes needed to transform Auckland and reach the target of 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. It also aligns with Council's empowered communities' strategy."

You can download the Low Carbon Action Plan here.

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