Southland councils want a regional approach to climate change policies
More $300 million in Southland roading revenue has been spent in other regions, and some proposed government emission reduction rules may entrench the inequity further, southern councils say. Environment Southland, Invercargill City Council and Southland District Council have prepared a joint submission to the Governments Transitioning To A Low-Emissions And Climate- Resilient Future discussion document, which was open for consultation until November 24. The submission was tabled at an Environment Southland council meeting on Wednesday. The discussion document says New Zealands first emission reduction plan will set out the actions the country will take to meet the first emissions budget, put us on the path to meet the second and third, and transition to a low-emissions future in a way that is achievable and affordable. READ MORE: * 'Concrete details' needed to determine Southland's future after Tiwai: Minister * Environment Southland's plans to reduce emissions However, the southern councils have sounded a warning that some initiatives mentioned in the document will not work in Southland, and a regional approach would be needed to implement others. The discussion document says transport is our second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. It proposes changing the way we travel, improving passenger vehicles and promoting a more efficient freight system, and wants to reduce emissions from freight transport by 25 per cent by 2035. The councils submission says Southland region has a large roading network and a large commercial fleet trucking product for processing and export over long distances. It has a structural roading revenue and expenditure mismatch, which since 2009/2010 has resulted in an average $39m annual revenue surplus which has been invested in other regions, or approximately $315 million in total. Southlanders are already paying for the transport networks in Auckland and Wellington and these new proposals risks entrenching this inequity even further, the submission says. The councils want the Government to consider a transition plan for older vehicles, the potential of a hydrogen plant using power from Manapouri, increasing the cycling network and the fact the only public transport in Southland is in Invercargill in its planning. Some strategies are mentioned to support low income households to transition to energy efficient heating, but the councils want the Ministry for the Environment to consider a regional approach for support. Communities are coming under pressure from a range of directions which is impacting on affordability for households. The combined impact of inflation, increasing interest rates, forecast rises in water costs as a result of reform and the expected closure of a key industry at Tiwai, will reduce the ability of the Southland community to afford basic goods. This will occur at the same time that the effects of any proposed climate policies will be felt, the submission says. The councils support the adoption of a regionalised approach to planting but warn that put simply, we cannot plant our way out of carbon change. Carbon farming would see the landscape of Southland rapidly change, impacting the economy, potentially increasing environmental degradation and soil erosion, and decreasing community wellbeing, it says. The focus of the approach presented in the discussion paper is to cash-in on a high carbon price for short-term financial gain, irrespective of the ecosystem services provided by well-planned, co-ordinated and integrated planting, the submission says.