Auckland transport plan shows climate change dial is still set on 'talk' not 'do'
OPINION: If the amount of talk in Auckland about the need for climate change action is getting a bit repetitive, that is because it is. When Mayor Phil Goff and Transport Minister Michael Wood prepared to unveil the latest agreed list of transport projects for the next decade it seemed like a moment to move the dial from talk to action. It wasnt. The three-yearly update of Auckland Transport Alignment Plan (ATAP) showed some minor promising changes around the edges, but nothing that even hinted at a bold re-think about the future of transport, which produces around 40 per cent of the citys carbon emissions. More concerning than the lack of a dial shift, was a not-even disguised attempt to make it look like something which it isnt. READ MORE: * Doubling public transport and cycling trips isn't enough to cut carbon, activists warn * 2021 is a new year but it brings the same challenges for Aucklanders * Auckland has a Climate Action Plan, now it desperately needs action On Auckland Councils own information website , a bullet point in a media release about ATAP read: In Goff and Woods media release, the minister said: For the first time were turning around transport emissions rising in Auckland. The ATAP 2021-31 package alone would result of around 13 per cent decrease in emissions per capita when compared with the previous package. While inside the report itself: Significant population increase means that while there is a decrease per person, overall emissions increase slightly by 6 per cent when the package is viewed in isolation of other Government and Council policies. The point the politicians were trying to sell was that other future policies still to be finalised would reduce emissions despite the impact of the mix of projects in. In the media releases highlighting key elements of the updated ATAP, no mention was made of the biggest, and most contentious of them, the Mill Rd southern arterial route , currently costed at up to $1.5 billion. Mill Rd is a red rag to the climate action bull, symbolising an attachment to building big roads which will attract motor vehicle traffic. The climate lobbyists have grounds to be sceptical of Mill Road, according to material released by the governments transport agency Waka Kotahi, to Nicholas Lee of the climate action coalition All Aboard. Lee had asked for any carbon emission impact assessments of Mill Rd due to begin construction in 2022. The modelling indicates that while the project in isolation may contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions, the overall transport package will deliver a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared with a future baseline with no integrated transport package. Quite what the last phrase means is unclear, but there is a belief in Waka Kotahi that other transport plans for the southern growth area will offset a carbon emission boost by Mill Rd. It is a scenario that seems out of step with the political stance on climate change action. It should be remembered that Auckland councillors last year declared a climate emergency, and endorsed an Auckland Climate Plan. The councillors are committed to halving carbon emissions from 2016 levels, by 2030 and being carbon-neutral by 2050. The latest data shows Aucklands carbon footprint continuing to grow. There is clearly more going on behind the scenes between the council and the Government, than is apparent in the fairly brief update of $31 billion of transport spending, but the document has the signatures of key politicians on it. The next step to watch is the revised Auckland Regional Land Transport plan, (RLTP) a wider range of transport spending plans, of which ATAP is a part. The public can make submissions on that plan, and the lobby Lawyers for Climate Action has already indicated that the final shape of RLTP could spark legal action if it doesnt reflect the previous commitments made by the council. It would be a shame if it came to that. So far though there is no sign something other than tweaks to business as usual will be delivered politically.