Climate change: Bigger Auckland plan won't reduce emissions by 2030
A proposed transport plan for the next decade in Auckland has acknowledged that it will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, despite the city committing to halving its carbon footprint . A key component of the draft Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) said even government proposals, yet to be implemented, such as clean car standards, would likely only hold emissions at 2016 levels. In addition to projects and initiatives in the plan, it said Auckland will need to push government to bring in incentives to switch to electric cars, and the move on the long-studied question of road pricing, or tolls. The RLTP offers little insight into how an estimated 64 per cent reduction in Aucklands transport emissions, can be achieved. READ MORE: * Auckland transport plan: Low-income fare discounts, but emissions will keep rising * New transport minister promises to 'get moving quickly' to cut emissions * Auckland public transport fare rises an early test of climate change commitment Tackling climate change will require a very significant change to the way we travel around our region although the timing and the detail of how this change might unfold are still to become obvious, it said. Aucklanders tell us they are supportive of tackling climate change, yet the way to successfully execute the transition is both complex and unclear, said the plan. The RLTP is part of a convoluted process to set the course for transport over the next decade, having already been signed-off in draft form, by councillors who said they were unhappy with it. The councils planning chair Chris Darby aired his committees concerns at the draft plan locking in too much spending that will not deliver climate change action. Darby appealed to the Regional Transport Committee (RTC) made up of Auckland Transport board members, and representatives of Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail to make changes after public consultation. We are at a crossroads, a critical point in our relationship on how we might or might not reshape the future, he told the committee. A core part of the RLTP is the updated list of transport spending agreed by the council and government for the next decade, the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) which also had a bleak climate view. ATAPs report said its $31.4 billion menu would on its own, boost transport emissions by 6 per cent by 2031. Darby said councillors also passed the ATAP package, which he described as only an indicative list of projects, which he urged the RTC to scrutinise. He said the council has sent a lot of time unsuccessfully averting a challenge by its government partner to remove as an ATAP objective, achieving a quality compact urban form. The description is understood to be a coded reference to an arm-wrestle over government enthusiasm for major greenfield development around Drury in the south, which many councillors question. The RLTP and ATAP include $1.3 billion for a Waka Kotahi project to build the Mill Road arterial road, south from Manukau. Transport makes up 38 per cent of Aucklands carbon emissions, and it is estimated transport carbon levels need to fall by 64 per cent to achieve an overall emission reduction of 50 per cent by 2030. The Regional Transport Committee now has the statutory task of conducting and considering public views on the mix of projects, and weighing up how the plan meets climate, transport and growth goals. The committee chair Adrienne Young-Cooper has asked for written advice on what powers it has to delete, change or reduce anything in the draft plan before it goes to Auckland Transports board to lock in. The RLTP must be finalised by June 30, but Young-Cooper also asked for advice on whether it could be reviewed sooner than the next, standard three-year period, if it felt larger scale change was needed Public views will be sought until May 2, on the citys proposed approach to transport.