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The Greater Wellington Regional Council wants local government and central government to work as a team in meeting the challenges from climate change.
In a submission on the Zero Carbon Bill, Greater Wellington chair Chris Laidlaw said anticipating and responding to climate change shouldn’t just be the preserve of central government.
“Local authorities must be given the mandate also to help both manage emissions and adapt to the consequences of a rapidly changing climate on their own patches, working with other local authorities where it’s the right thing to do,” Laidlaw said. “Compelling evidence of this has just come to light with the publication of EQC payout figures that show coastal properties are disproportionately at risk from storms, with most claims going to properties within six kilometres of the coast.
“In the past, local government mandated settlement in these areas. Now, the risk and costs are too great and we have to work together to carefully reverse the trend of exposed settlement.”
The GWRC suggests the Resource Management Act should be changed to end its prohibition on councils considering the effect of greenhouse gases in planning decisions, which has been in place since 2004. This would prevent even more emissions being “locked-in” by poor planning decisions on long-lived infrastructure and land-use changes.
The council also recommends the government use the momentum around the bill to move decisively and set a target in primary legislation for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“We need certainty, and this will give a clear signal to everyone about the level and pace of change required for the country to achieve the commitment it made by signing the Paris Agreement,” Laidlaw said. “Mechanisms should be provided to strengthen emissions targets and budgets, given that the latest science is indicating the risks, likely impacts and costs associated with 2°C of warming are even higher than first thought. Weakening targets should only be possible via legislation.”
Greater Wellington also proposed that the bill should include a requirement for the government to make a national adaptation plan, advised on by the Climate Commission.
