Focus on climate change in 'most ambitious' long term plan
Nelsons 10-year focus on climate change has won praise from Audit New Zealand, but the council is asking the public: is the plan ambitious enough, or should it be more cautious? City councillor and chair of the environment and climate committee Kate Fulton could not emphasise enough her excitement at the inclusion of climate change in the Long Term Plan (LTP). She said much of the councils proposed climate action was scattered throughout the councils departments, but there was a specific plan backing it up. Its not an environmental issue, its a social and economic issue, she said. READ MORE: * 'Wall of renewals' in pipeline for $491 million Nelson plan * Housing intensification a focus for council in Long Term Plan * Costs of $1.8 billion outlined in council's 'challenging' draft 10-year plan Climate change is a little bit like being gluten-free when you go to a supermarket, in that you want a gluten-free section, but you also want options throughout the shop. The big-picture high-level thinking sits within my delegation [environment and climate committee], but quite a lot of the action sits in other delegations, like infrastructure , for example. She said the Nelson city LTP was the most ambitious in terms of climate action, with proposals to tackle mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. Its a way for a community that understands there will be some uncertainty ... [to] feel safe, and know that we have a plan. The councils plan is divided into four sections in its consultation document: how people will live and work , transport themselves, reduce waste and consumption, and protect nature. Specifically, the councils plan is to enable people to make choices in those areas. This is the first opportunity the council has had to put climate change into its long-term thinking since it first declared climate change an emergency in 2019 . The last LTP was put in place in 2018, so much of the councils budgets in the time since that declaration have already been locked in. This sets a whole new scope, Fulton said. The draft LTPs biggest proposed budget for climate action is $52 million for the next 10 years for resilience projects to reduce flooding and inundation, but there were other projects and proposals included, like the $13.3m budget for implementing a city-wide kitchen-waste composting scheme based on its ongoing trial. Fulton said even the library precinct development, a somewhat controversial proposal which could one day see Wakatu Inc developing a neighbouring Climatorium , was one which she saw as a step towards climate action. New Zealanders are renowned for their ingenuity. The opportunity for ingenuity and realising the potential of our people, no matter what their background is. I see the library and climatorium as being a knowledge precinct for that future. She said there had been quite a lot of concern in the community about the proposed location of the library and whether it would be affected by rises in sea-level. However, Fulton said the councils engineering reports, data, and plans were robust. Investing in this really special piece of land is worthwhile. She said she hoped the significant inclusion of climate change in the councils LTP consultation documents, both in its own section and scattered throughout, prompted thoughtful feedback from the community. What were hoping to hear from the community is if they think we have been ambitious enough, and what they support, what gaps they see, and how we can go for the low-hanging fruit. Consultation on the councils LTP closes on Wednesday, April 21. Submissions can be made online at the council's Shape Nelson page or via hardcopy, available at civic house.