So, Auckland has a climate plan... now what?

So, Auckland has a climate plan... now what?

Event date: 8 December 2020.

Auckland is in a climate emergency. 

We are already seeing the impacts of climate change in the region, such as higher temperatures, increased drought and more intense rainfall events. These impacts are expected to get more serious over time and will persist for the next several decades and beyond. At the same time, Auckland's emissions are increasing, despite the commitments we've made as a C40 City to halve the region's emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. 

How we address climate change now will affect Auckland and Aucklanders for decades to come. We must make urgent, radical changes to how and what we do as individuals, communities and businesses. Changes that have the potential to not only address our climate challenges, but also have wider positive effects, such as reducing the health impacts of transport, restoring and regenerating our urban and rural natural environments, ensuring more affordable and reliable electricity and water for all Aucklanders. 

But to get there we must all act. And fast. 

In 2019, we consulted with Aucklanders on a framework to help our city prepare for a climate-safe future. In July 2020, following the review and integration of a wide range of insights and inputs from Aucklanders, this framework was unanimously adopted as Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland's Climate Plan by the council's Environment and Climate Change Committee. In early December 2020 a fully digitised version of the plan will be launched. 

But what does this plan mean for Auckland's future? What direction does the plan provide to help reduce Auckland's fossil fuel dependence and become more climate-ready?

While people are taking personal responsibility for reducing emissions and making lifestyle changes, systems and structures set decades ago are still playing out. Incremental change will not be sufficient. The time for action is now. We need major shifts and structural changes in a range of areas, such as how Auckland grows and develops, how we get around and how we power our homes and businesses. A challenge this significant requires all sectors and individuals who helped to develop the plan - and many more - to help us deliver it. 

Alec Tang

Partner, KPMG

Alec is a Partner at KPMG New Zealand, co-leading the firm’s Climate Change, Decarbonisation, ESG and Sustainability practice, and is also a lecturer in Sustainable Business at AUT University. As a Chartered Environmentalist and Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, Alec has focused his career on addressing the breadth of sustainability challenges and opportunities that are increasingly shaping our communities, society and economy. This has included a range of leaderships positions in academia, business and the public sector, most recently as Director of Sustainability at Kāinga Ora and leading the Chief Sustainability Office at Auckland Council through the development of Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan.

Rachel Brown

Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Business Network

The founder of Sustainable Business Network (SBN), Rachel has played a critical role in advancing sustainable business for almost 20 years. She is a regular presenter, collaborator and driver of action within New Zealand business. She provides strategic sustainability advice to countless government agencies and businesses, ranging from large corporates to small enterprises. In 2018 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for years of service to sustainable business. Rachel currently sits on the Jobs for Nature Advisory Panel and the National Waste and Resource Advisory Group. SBN is currently driving 3 major system change projects: Climate Action, Go Circular and Restoring Water. 

Johnnie Freeland

Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Ngai Tuhoe

Johnnie is a wayfinder, systems navigator and whakapapa centred designer.  He brings together more than 30 years’ knowledge and lived experience of serving community and in guiding and navigating a range of Iwi, Māori community and public sector organisations in working to achieve better outcomes with Māori.    

He utilises mātauranga Māori – Māori knowledge systems thinking, knowledge and practice in navigating systems.  He draws on specific knowledge and practice of maramataka – lunar celestial cycles and whakatere waka – waka navigation in designing Oranga Motuhake/well-being pathways, with whānau, hapū, iwi and organisations.

Johnnie has helped navigate a whakapapa centred response to climate change within Tāmaki Makaurau, through the Tāmaki Makaurau Mana Whenua Forum.  In partnering with the Auckland Council, together they worked to harness the benefits of drawing on mātauranga Māori knowledge and western science to navigate a way forward for Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland through Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri Auckland’s Climate Plan.

He has also worked with the Te Waiohua Iwi of Te Ākitai, Ngāti Tāmaoho and Ngāti Te Ata, in leading and underpinning Te Whakaoranga o te Puhinui – Puhinui Regeneration programme alongside Auckland Council, Manurewa and Ōtara Papatoetoe Local Boards, Eke Pānuku and Kainga Ora, focused on regenerating the ecological, social, cultural and economic well-being of the Puhinui stream and its communities.

Councillor Richard Hills

Environment and Climate Change Committee Chair, Auckland Council

Councillor Richard Hills is chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee and North Shore ward Councillor. He is a second term councillor and, when elected, was the second youngest councillor in Auckland Council History. He is Auckland Council’s first rainbow councillor and belongs to Ngā Puhi.Councillor Hills’ priorities include people, public transport, climate change, youth, mental health, and the environment. He is currently leading Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri, the Auckland response to climate change.Prior to election as a councillor, Cr Hills spent two terms as a member of the Kaipātiki Local Board and was a youth worker, employed across health boards in Auckland.

Te Huia Taylor

Director, Pakaurua Consultants Limited

After completing a Bachelor of Commerce the majority of Te Huia's job experience has been with social enterprises all with a focus on better outcomes for Maori and the environment. Over the past few years she has grown a strong passion for indigenous knowledge, and in particular how indigenous knowledge should be part of the solution for the major climate and environmental issues we are facing. This passion has forged opportunities for her to attend 3 different United Nations conferences related to Indigenous rights and Climate Change. In 2019 she chose to start an organisation and is now the director of Pakaurua Consultants Limited. This organisation aims to highlight the importance of Maori knowledge and world view in central and local government. The organisation's priority is to provide a Māori voice on issues that relate to Māori with a specific focus on the climate and environmental crises we are currently experiencing. 

Rod Oram

Business Journalist

Business journalist Rod Oram contributes weekly to Newsroom, Nine to Noon, and Newstalk ZB. He is a public speaker on deep sustainability, business, economics, and innovation. Rod is a member of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, which brings together people from here and abroad who seek to contribute to global change from Aotearoa.In Citigroup’s annual global journalism awards, Rod was the winner in 2019 in the General Business category in the Australia and NZ region for his columns in Newsroom on Fonterra; and he was the NZ Journalist of the year.In the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association Business Journalism Awards, Rod won the Business Commentary category in 2018 and 2020 for his Newsroom columns.Rod was a founding trustee and the second chairman of Ākina Foundation, which helps social enterprises develop their business models in areas of sustainability. He remains actively involved with the foundation and the ventures it supports.In 2016, Bridget Williams Books published Rod’s most recent book, Three Cities: Seeking Hope in the Anthropocene, details at bwb.co.nz/books/three-cities

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