We know that dealing with climate change is a long-term commitment and a priority the Council must take action on now, so we are better prepared for the future.
Porirua City declared a climate change emergency on 26 June 2019. We followed that up with the launch of our climate change strategy, Rautaki o Te Ao Hurihuri in December 2020, which set the framework for our work in the climate space.
Since then, we have been working towards achieving the objectives in our long-term climate action plan to address our commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Most recently, in July 2023 the Council endorsed the Pathway to Emissions Reduction, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Council’s facilities by 30 per cent by 2030.
There’s still a lot of work to do to mitigate and adapt to the impacts that climate change will have on our city and to understand what steps we need to take to ensure Porirua is resilient. The impacts of climate change are already being felt, with more extreme weather events, increasing temperatures and sea level rise.
More flooding and landslides could have huge financial impacts on the Council and community. But building and upgrading infrastructure for these events is expensive and we can’t do as much as we would like. There is always a trade-off between risk and cost.
We need to build a better understanding of the effects of climate change, so that we can prepare and plan our city with those impacts in mind, while also remaining conscious of the financial impacts of our decisions as part of our climate change response.
All Council decisions consider the impacts of climate change. We have an embedded approach to spatial, growth and infrastructure planning. This is a dynamic and highly emotive subject requiring careful and compassionate planning and approaches that involve all those impacted. Responding to the climate crisis requires a delicate balance between having good information, ensuring equity across the city, long-term thinking, collaboration, economics and urgency.
The Council continues to measure and monitor its own emissions, including replacing existing systems with lower-carbon alternatives where possible. In addition, our 2024–34 Long-term Plan includes the introduction of a new rates-funded kerbside rubbish and recycling collection in response to our climate goals and reduced landfill space. In the future we’ll be considering our management of organic waste and other ways we can work towards reducing waste emissions.
Our District Plan is a rulebook for how land can be used across the city. This applies to every property in Porirua and provides the blueprint for the right growth in the right places. This ensures that those parts of the city we love are protected and only development appropriate to natural hazard risks is allowed.
The regulated building functions we perform ensure homes are safe, healthy, resilient and contribute to the wellbeing of the people who use them.
The District Plan provides for broad community outcomes, and decisions on resource consents aim to give effect to these outcomes. Our monitoring and enforcement teams work closely with our community to ensure these outcomes are achieved.
The District Plan allows for growth in the right places, providing people with the choice to build the type of house suitable for their needs with the appropriate infrastructure. The most dense housing growth is encouraged in areas with the best access to transport.
The team is also responsible for identifying climate hazard-prone areas in the District Plan and for ensuring the Plan controls land use so we have the right development in the right places. The team has a workstream that aims to investigate options and costs for climate change adaptation across the city.
