The emissions mission
IN this scary new world of rising global temperatures, threatened flora and fauna, and looming environmental disaster, it is essential for us all to feel like we are ‘‘doing our bit’’ to help.
Ideally, we want to be able to turn things around. That is now a very hard task indeed. But even slowing down the awful pace of change is something well worth celebrating.
Dunedin may be a long away from the summer forest fires of Europe and the west coast of North America, the floods of Pakistan, and the insane heatwaves of India. But it’s not so very far from the recent deluges in Auckland, Nelson and Westport, the bushfires and droughts of scorching Australia, and the unprecedented marine heatwaves around our shores.
Setting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is an important step which many public and private organisations have taken. Some of those intentions are, naturally, conservative ones initially, involving changes to workplace practices and equipment. Measuring the true success of those modifications in terms of reductions in emissions is not necessarily an easy task, and the calculated figures may not themselves be especially accurate.
This week the findings of the latest Dunedin City Community Carbon Footprint study were released and debated by city councillors. The report shows total gross carbon emissions fell by 9% during the past four years. If carbon absorbed by the city’s forests is also included, net emissions dropped by 21% during the same period.
According to the report, livestock were responsible for the largest quantity of emissions in the city, followed by diesel, marine freight and petroldriven transport. At the peak of the pandemic, petrol and diesel consumption dropped significantly.
Mayor Jules Radich says the decline in emissions is a ‘‘good first step’’ towards the city’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2030. That, of course, is now only seven years away, so progress on this is going to have to accelerate to meet that target.
Council analyst Jinty MacTavish highlights that the big fall in emissions is from the transport sector. She says Covid19 is responsible for some of that, but ‘‘preliminary analysis suggests’’ Dunedin residents may be changing their habits when it comes to getting around the city.
Councillors debated whether the findings were really the result of changing behaviours or instead the outcome of Covid19 lockdowns, enforced and selfimposed, and therefore not such cause for celebration.
Cr Lee Vandervis sensibly cast doubt on the true cause of the drop in emissions, saying residents were kidding themselves if they thought that was due to their efforts. He had support from Cr Jim O’Malley and Cr Steve Walker, who requested the results from travel surveys of some of the city’s largest employers, including the University of Otago, about how staff get to and from work.
That information could potentially be far more useful in determining the true causes of the fall in emissions than just percentages.
One of Dunedin’s great charms is how walkable it is as a city. In just half an hour one can stroll from the hills to the centre of town or to the north end. Unfortunately, the benefits of living in a relatively small city are offset by its difficult and steep topography, meaning cycling is not a viable commuting option.
Greater adoption of public transport remains crucial to reducing emissions and cutting the number of vehicles on the roads. In the 2018 census, nearly 75% of commuters used their own, or work, cars to get to and from the office. Only 3.4% said then they used buses to travel to work, school or tertiary institution.
Large and ambitious changes are needed. A goal to increase use of buses to 8% by 2030 goes nowhere near enough.
If we are to make the biggest possible difference, and take the most decisive and farreaching steps towards the 2030 zero emissions goal, we have to know for sure how much of a change there has already been, without any masking effects from Covid19.