Mayors, iwi team up for climate change

Mayors from across the North Island are expecting councils to have the bulk of work to combat and adjust to the impacts of climate change.

But they and iwi are hoping they can make a difference sooner rather than later by working together.

Horizons Regional Council had its first meeting of the climate action joint committee yesterday.

The committee is made up of Horizons’ chair, the mayors of Ruapehu, Tararua, Horowhenua, Whanganui, Manawatu¯, Palmerston North and Rangitı¯kei, and tangata whenua representatives.

The committee is believed to be the first to involve mayors from many cities and district councils regularly meeting to figure out ways to combat, mitigate and adapt to climate change.

It also gives full voting rights to tangata whenua representatives.

The committee is the latest in a range of moves Horizons has made since ratepayers used the 2018 longterm plan process to criticise its lack of action on climate change.

Those include putting a climate change section in its State of Environment report for the first time, all the region’s mayors signing a memorandum of understanding, committing to tackling climate change and doing an emissions inventory.

Rangitı¯kei mayor Andy Watson expected the committee to be extremely busy dealing with Government legislation set to come through in the next 18 months.

But Ruapehu mayor Don Cameron elicited a lot of nods when he said it was likely the Government was waiting for councils to do some work.

The Ministry for the Environment had a lot of work on, so councils needed to do what they could instead of waiting on Government funding or plans, he said.

‘‘We have to lead and do it our way.’’

Palmerston North deputy mayor Aleisha Rutherford, standing in for mayor Grant Smith, said councils needed to get on the same page to make that easier.

The committee’s first tangata whenua representative is set to be James Kendrick – the appointment has to be confirmed at a full Horizons council meeting – who has represented Nga¯ti Kahungunu ki Ta¯maki nui-a¯-rua on environmental issues at resource consent hearings and in the Environment Court. He said people were like ostriches with their heads in the sand when it came to climate change, yet it was the greatest challenge people faced.‘‘when the time comes, I don’t want my moko turning around saying, ‘hey koro, where were you when all this was happening, sitting on your backside doing nothing?’.’’

The committee is next scheduled to meet in September, when Horizons expect to have its climate change risk report done.