Brent Barrett's Home Planet: Palmerston North needs care-free car-free access to Wellington

Australian Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese with his dog and his partner Jodie Haydon. As voters just reminded us, people are increasingly prepared to back stronger climate action. Photo / AP

OPINION:

Wow, what a bonanza month for climate action. We're finally on the move.

In case you missed it, our New Zealand emissions budgets and action plans were just announced. By 2035, emissions are planned to drop by a third. Starting now. As Climate Change Minister James Shaw said, this gives us the best chance of avoiding the worst effects of the climate crisis.

The main buzz is in the Emissions Reduction Plan, with actions and investment in transport, energy, and many other ways to drive down emissions. Palmerston North is already a big player in the transport and clean energy space, so this plan creates local opportunities.

Budget 22 also enabled climate action. Investments like half-price fares on public transport for community service cardholders. This makes a good start towards free fares. To get it right, the discount should stay open to everyone, with the fare going to zero for community services cardholders. It's time the idea that transport services need to create revenue takes a back seat. We face a future where emissions and congestion are the real drivers of transport solutions.

The biggest failing? Too little action for farming. This is despite livestock's huge emissions footprint. Yes, a new agri-tech centre to drive down on-farm emissions was announced. Yes, our region should play a big part in that. But to get real progress and value from that centre, we also need a sinking lid on synthetic nitrogen, a rising price on methane, and support for farmers to diversify.

The surprise gap in the Budget was the failure to fund the Capital Connection expansion. This project was one of the best planned and sensible opportunities to improve regional transport services. It has the full support of all councils including Horizons and Greater Wellington Regional Council. All signs were positive, and then nothing. Bizarre. And deeply disappointing.

Anyone who's followed the local fortunes of passenger rail knows it's long overdue for proper investment and needs multiple services a day. Until that is achieved, we're at a real competitive disadvantage as a city.

What to do? We need to get creative and build patronage until it forces investment.

Let's push for a shuttle-rail hybrid with integrated ticketing. An hourly public shuttle service linking our city centre to the Waikanae railhead. A great way to cut petrol costs, avoid the parking costs and hassle, and knock back emissions; all while enjoying care-free car-free access to Wellington.

With petrol back over $3 a litre, the time's never been better to change things up. The ongoing clean car discount and the newly announced scrap and replace system for gas guzzlers are winners here.

How crazy is it that every year we pump billions of dollars out of New Zealand, so we can import and burn millions of litres of petrol, set it on fire and drive up emissions? All this, when we could be keeping the money at home to create and buy local renewable electricity, supporting clean energy jobs while enjoying the smooth power and convenience of electric vehicles. The sooner we flick the switch, the better.

There's much to unpack in the recent climate action announcements, this is just a start. There's more good news than ever. Living within a liveable climate budget for a start. But we're still underpowered when we look at the huge transition needed to fix the climate crisis.

To get to where we need to be more must be done, urgently. As Australian voters just reminded us, people are increasingly prepared to back stronger climate action. So let's keep moving.

• Brent Barrett is an environmental advocate, city councillor and scientist. The views expressed here are his own.