Council is playing its part, helping lead the way, and supporting our communities to lower emissions and grow Kaipara’s resilience in a changing climate.

At the September Meeting Council took a major step forward by adopting two greenhouse gas emissions targets for the organisation:

1. Reduce Council’s organisational emissions by 30% by 2031 (compared to 2018-2019 baseline),
2. Achieve net zero Council emissions by 2050.

The 2031 target is an interim target to ensure action and make sure Council is on track to net zero by 2050.

In the 2018-2019 baseline year Council produced 6,019 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is produced through most of our day to day activities including the amount of waste we produce in the offices, our petrol, diesel, and electricity consumption, through to how we manage and treat community wastewater.

Every little bit helps, and the Council is looking across all areas of work to cut 1,806 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 9 years.

Setting the emissions target is just one part of climate change work. The targets support Council’s developing Climate Action Plan, which will identify short, medium, and long term actions to reduce emissions as an organisation. The Climate Action Plan will also include actions to support communities and business to lower their emissions.

Council staff will be looking at the small contributions they can make daily, through recycling, reducing paper consumption, and their personal impact, all the way through to large scale infrastructure construction projects.

This decision aligns with forthcoming Resource Management Act changes, whereby the Northland Regional Council will have to consider emission production for consents they approve.

Emissions targets and the Climate Action Plan is one of many areas of Council’s growing climate change work.

Go to https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/climatechange to find out more.

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