It's been one year since Whanganui declared a climate emergency. Photo / Bevan Conley
It's been one year since Whanganui declared a climate emergency. Photo / Bevan Conley
It's one year this week since Whanganui District Council voted to declare a climate emergency.
Ethan Griffiths asks how the council has responded.
In arguing for the council to declare a climate emergency, Alan Taylor said climate change was not just an "impending crisis", rather it was an "emergency".
"We must make this declaration and we must make it now," the Whanganui district councillor urged his colleagues.
Ten of the 13, including mayor Hamish McDouall, voted in favour, and Whanganui joined a growing list of councils to have done so. That list now sits at 16 councils.
Councillor Alan Taylor moved the motion to declare a climate emergency in February last year. Photo / Bevan Conley
Council chief executive Kym Fell also couldn't point to any substantial change resulting from the declaration but said the planning stage was about getting it right.
"I suppose the key thing is this climate change document out for consultation," he said.
"But it is really early stages at this point in time. There's not a huge amount that's occurred in that space," Fell said.
"We want to do it right, so creating a strategy at the beginning is really important. I think also getting feedback from the community is really important too."
The draft strategy, which closes for submissions on Sunday, includes suggestions for the work council could do to mitigate climate change, including purchasing electric vehicles, enabling remote working and video conferencing, and investigating the use of solar energy.
"The delivery over the last 12 months is more about research and making sure we're investing in the right areas," Fell said.
"Rather than spending money on day one, let's make sure we do it properly."
None of the "possible actions" laid out in the draft climate strategy have included costings or outcomes and it says "further work is required to refine, cost and finalise the Action Plan".
Whanganui District Council chief executive Kym Fell said it's important council makes the right decisions related to climate action. Photo / File
Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby told the Chronicle most councils that had declared a climate emergency were in the same boat as Whanganui and were working to establish a strategy to implement responses to the crisis.
"It's a three-step stage. One, make the declaration. Two, develop the strategy and consult on it, and thirdly, provide the resources through what we call the Long Term Plan and budgeting to execute the strategy," Crosby said.
"Some councils have moved quicker and some have been a bit slower but [Whanganui District Council's progress] would be relatively standard."
The public gallery was full as the Whanganui District Council voted to declare a climate emergency in February last year. Photo / Bevan Conley
Crosby said the proof would be in how successful the councils' actions were.
"From what I'm hearing around New Zealand is that councils are finalising their action plans, making sure they are appropriately resourced through the budget process. The true test will start later this year when they actually start to implement them.
"There is a lot of credibility at stake here."
Meanwhile, Taylor said he had noticed a willingness among elected members and staff to progress the whole strategy and address different ideas to lead the district in its response to climate change.
"We are moving more rapidly than we would have otherwise and I think the declaration cemented in people's minds that this stuff is very real and very important."
