Climate Change: Auckland councillors sign up to tougher standards
Auckland councillors have unanimously backed remaining in a global climate change group , which has set tougher standards for action. The move to stay in the prestigious C40 group of 97 cities precedes some critical decisions councillors face in coming months that could determine the path to meeting its pledge to halve carbon emissions by 2030 . C40s new leadership standards will require the city to outline in 2024, that it is on track to meeting that goal. We are going to have to do a hell of a lot more , said Richard Hills, who chairs the Environment and Climate Change committee. READ MORE: * Auckland Council must up climate change game or leave global group of leaders * Climate change: Lobby group threatens legal moves to make Auckland Council act * Auckland's public transport fare rises contradict its climate action goals With transport making up around 40 per cent of Aucklands footprint, it has been estimated transport emissions will need to be cut by up to 70 per cent in the city, to become carbon neutral by 2050. They (C40) will be looking at us to see if we are delivering on the programme, said the mayor Phil Goff, towards the end of a 35-minute discussion on whether to remain in C40, which the council joined in 2015. Auckland is the only New Zealand city to be part of C40. In a lot of ways, it would be more comfortable if we were not a member of C40, Goff told the environment and climate change committee. There would be nobody looking over our shoulder, no one stretching us, or applying discipline if we werent doing what we said we would do, he said, adding that those were not reasons to step out. Auckland is classed as an innovator city alongside the likes of Copenhagen and Rotterdam in C40, and has to re-commit every three years to the global groups commitments. The councils chief sustainability officer Alec Tang told councillors C40 had changed what it expected from city members. It is not just about passive activity and that we sign up to stuff, it is about delivering and about leadership that's the focus of the standards revision, he said. This is about the city, and how it will demonstrate climate leadership, and bring others along with us," said Tang. Glenn Wilcox, a member of the Independent Maori Statutory Board on the committee said Auckland could not afford to fail in the task set by C40. We are talking about the mana of our city Id hate to be the mayor who has to say we have blown this, said Wilcox. Auckland has taken all the correct political steps so far on climate change, declaring a climate emergency, completing a Climate Plan with carbon neutrality as its 2050 goal, and now committing to a 2024 stocktake. Ahead lie the first big steps in budgeting and confirming the actions and policies which will deliver. The council's proposed 10-year budget goes out for consultation in weeks, leading to the first funded initiatives on the way to ambitious carbon reduction goals. Equally critical will be the unveiling in March of the proposed Regional Land Transport Plan, a 10-year outline of intended transport projects and spending. A climate lobby group called Lawyers for Climate Action told councillors it would monitor the decisions taken, and legal action was possible if they fell short of meeting the formal and statutory commitments made. It is clear we all need to act, the questions I get from media and from the public are what are we doing about climate change Hills told the committee just before the unanimous vote.