Climate change: Plan that will change Aucklanders' lives due Monday
Aucklanders will find out today how much they will need to change how they get around for the city to meet its commitment to halve climate warming emissions by 2030. Auckland Councils Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway (TERP) will outline how much less driving will be needed , and how the citys roads and amenities will change to allow people to travel differently. A sustainable transport advocate hoped Aucklanders would see the opportunity to improve their lives and their city, and not just focus on the required reduction in driving. I dont think it should be seen as just an emissions reduction plan, its much more than that, said advocate Tim Adriaansen, who has not been involved in the closed door work on the document. READ MORE: * The court case, the song, and Auckland's climate change action * How much climate change action do you get for $1 billion? * Electric cars, high density housing not enough to hit Auckland emissions targets: Report Its a real opportunity for Auckland to change itself to be a more sustainable and healthier city, he said. To halve Aucklands carbon emissions by 2030, the council has already committed to a 64% reduction in transport emissions over 2016 levels, a huge shift with the new plan coming in a difficult political environment . The scale of change, both in behaviour and investment was hinted at in the 2020 Auckland climate action plan, in which public transports share of trips was intended to have trebled, and the distance travelled by light vehicles cut by 12%. However, Auckland Transport former chief executive Shane Ellison had talked of a need to cut driving by 40%, and little detail has been unveiled , on how the city would adapt around that level of change. The pathway released on Monday comes two months out from the October 8 local body election in which modest plans to reduce on-street parking, and invest more in cycling have become hot topics. Adriaansen said he had worries about how the detail in the report today will be greeted. Theres a real concern that people will feel like they are being pushed out of their cars and that they dont have other options, so there needs to be good communication with the public, he said. When you are driving, the thing that slows you down the most is traffic, and this should be a plan to significantly reduce traffic itd be a really good chance for drivers to see their journey times decrease while other people move to things that are cheaper and healthier, he said. I dont think the plan on its own will convince people the convincing job is big and ongoing, and it is important we see leadership from council and Auckland Transport, stepping up to say yes we can do this, and it can be a good thing. Pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that lead to halving carbon emissions have emerged, such as the planned investment in electric buses and ferries, and more cycle lanes, and this years Climate Action Targeted Rate , to accelerate investment. However, the picture of how the big emission reduction goals will be achieved should become clearer, with the release of the pathway report on Monday.