Sustainability goals need to be taken up locally – ECan chairman

Environment Canterbury chairman Sir Kerry Burke has welcomed the sustainability initiatives leading the Prime Minister’s annual statement to Parliament this afternoon.

“At community level, making sustainability our goal will deliver real benefits now and in the future. Our regional economy is just as dependent on our clean, green image as our national economy is. ECan is reviewing its environmental policies with the public this year, through the review of our Regional Policy Statement, and we need people’s input to that process.

“I think it’s also timely to challenge other councils and organisations working with the environment to pick up the sustainability mantle and tell us what they are doing to reduce their environmental footprint. I will be talking to my local government colleagues and putting this question to them at Monday’s mayoral forum.”

Sir Kerry said the regional council and the community were making progress in a number of areas which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions – water management, transport demands and air quality.

“ECan’s Metro buses are testing biodiesel fuel mixes, so it was good to see the Prime Minister announcing a sales obligation on biofuels. The growth in bus use in Christchurch shows that a well-designed bus system using new technology will encourage people out of their cars. Public passenger transport is an area where the Government has increased spending and people in cities like Christchurch are benefiting from it.

“ECan’s aim of reducing winter air pollution in cities like Christchurch and Timaru means that fuels like coal will cease to be burnt on many home fires in the future. In aiming as a country to be carbon-neutral through a combination of methods, including planting forests as carbon sinks, reducing coal burnt locally contributes to that equation.

“Households and businesses are also moving towards more sustainable daily practices. Government initiatives to encourage people to retrofit insulation and switch to low-pollution, energy efficient hot water and heating systems are to be commended and councils can build on these gains locally.

“Household recycling and waste minimisation initiatives are taking off in Canterbury, which shows that when encouraqed, people will do the right thing. In rural areas, more and more farmers are serious about environmental stewardship and the need to conserve water and manage their land sustainably.”

Sir Kerry said Environment Canterbury was also taking leadership steps as an organisation, for example with its own recent building project – recycling, linking and retrofitting two existing buildings using energy-efficient, locally-sourced materials and water conservation systems. The ECan staff fleet includes hybrid cars which use less fuel and pollute less, and bicycles. Staff recycle paper and plastics, and food wastes.

Sir Kerry also noted that ECan is releasing a local analysis of climate change this week, looking at how different parts of the region are likely to be affected by climate change in coming years and its effects upon different sectors.

ENDS