Climate Change Commission - time to step up

The NZILA has welcomed aspects of the just-released Climate Change Commission's final advice to the government - Ināia tonu nei.

The document was publicly released this week and sets out an ambitious roadmap to bring net greenhouse gas emissions down here in Aotearoa, by 42 per cent, within just 14 years.

NZILA Advocacy Panel member Matthew Bradbury agrees the plan is ambitious but believes there are many recommendations in the final report which landscape architects will support.

Ināia tonu nei was made public this week.

“Of interest to many LAs is the section on reducing carbon emissions through good urban design. Urban design wasn’t included in the original document, and it’s good to see that the importance of urban design in reducing emissions has been recognised,” says Bradbury who is also Associate Professor at the School of Architecture at UNITEC in Auckland and the programme leader of the Masters of Landscape Architecture.

He stresses the importance of partnership with mana whenua in developing any legitimate urban design policy.

“The research for a consistent methodology for assessing the carbon emissions of any urban development is a significant challenge to help measure the consequences of different urban design decisions.”

“Of course, for LA’s, our abilities are more in how we can help our cities adapt to the challenges of climate change. We are already building landscapes that will help us to improve our resilience,” says Mr Bradbury.

He cites two recent examples

1. The restoration of the Te Auaunga stream by Boffa Miskell in Mt Roskill, Auckland which he says will help prevent flooding for the adjacent neighbourhood and establish a new park.”

2. The newly completed Daldy Street Linear Park, by Landlab, on Auckland’s Waterfront which he says provides a new green street with rain gardens but is also designed as a flood conveyance channel.

“Building on Ināia tonu nei, we are looking forward with anticipation to the details of the new direction for climate change mitigation and adaptation with the proposed Natural and Built Environments Act.

“Of particular interest will be the details of how we can improve resilience to the effects of climate change through adaptation and how the Managed Retreat and Climate Change Adaptation Act will work.”

Ināia tonu nei sets out an ambitious plan to bring net greenhouse gas emissions down by 42 per cent, within 14 years.

Commission Chair Rod Carr says the report shows a thriving, climate-resilient, and low emissions future for Aotearoa is possible - but the work must start now.

"Ināia tonu nei is a call to all of us to accelerate climate action today, not the day after tomorrow," he says.

The Government has until 31 December this year to consider the Commission’s advice. By this date the Government must have set its emissions budgets and finalised the country’s first emissions reduction plan detailing the policies it will use to achieve the budgets.

"Transformational and lasting change is both necessary and possible. The technology and the tools Aotearoa needs to reach its climate targets exist today. Our evidence shows climate action is affordable. Ināia tonu nei - the time is now,” says Dr Carr.

"Current government policies do not put us on track to meet the Commission’s recommended emissions budgets or the 2050 targets. As a country, we need to fundamentally change our response to climate change.

Matthew Bradbury points out that the NZILA made a submission to the Climate Change Commission, along with 15 thousand groups and individuals.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their views with the Commission.” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in her reaction to the final report.

“The transition to a low emissions future for Aotearoa New Zealand will create jobs and new opportunities for Kiwi businesses, help reduce household energy bills, and secure our recovery from COVID-19. There will also be benefits to health because of warmer, drier homes, more walking and cycling, and less air pollution.

“The Commission makes clear for the first time that delaying action will only make the effort harder and more expensive for the economy in the long run; it predicts that not taking action now will cost us 2.3 percent of GDP by 2050, almost double the cost to our economy of acting now.

“It is smarter and cheaper to act now, and that’s why we’ve spent the last three and a half year laying the foundations for a prosperous, low-emissions economy. But we can see from the Commission’s advice there is more to do,” says Ms Ardern.

Climate Change Minister, James Shaw said the release of the advice marks a significant moment in the work this Government is doing to build a low emissions future for Aotearoa New Zealand.

“We are yet to see a sustained decline in the pollution we put into the atmosphere. And even when we do, we need to ensure that decline continues and, in fact, picks up pace, every year until we hit net-zero. The Commission’s advice makes clear that this is possible, but only if we act now,” he says.

“They have set out a pathway that would need every part of the Government to come to the table and commit to further action to bring down emissions in their sector. If we can do that, then we can reverse the current trend and finally bring emissions down in line with what science requires. There will be work for everyone to do, so from now on nearly every Minister will, in some ways, be a Climate Change Minister.

You can see the full advice here.