Auckland’s emissions good, bad
Hi honey, I’m top of the world - and alone
"Tackling climate change is one of humanity's most pressing issues.'' Auckland mayor Phil Goff
"Solo climbing is unspeakably hard. It's very lonely as well but I wouldn't change it for anything.''
Joe Nawalaniec
Auckland is releasing more greenhouse gases than ever.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, with emissions per capita falling and the Auckland Council taking action to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
A report recently released by the council, which looked at different sectors in Auckland in 2015, said emissions were increasing at a faster rate than previously.
Between 2009 and 2015 Auckland’s gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased on average by
1.2 per cent per year, yet in 2015 they increased by 3.8 per cent.
Greenhouse gases absorb radiation, which traps and holds heat in the atmosphere and is one of the main factors responsible for global warming.
In 2015 Auckland’s GHG emissions were 11,309 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide, the report said. One kilotonne is equal to 1 million kilograms.
By comparison a 2014 United Nations report said New Zealand’s total GHG emissions were 81,104 kilotonnes, which was 1 per cent higher than 2013, and up 23 per cent since 1990.
Road transport made up 35.7 per cent of emissions, by far the worst GHG emitter for the city, the report said.
Industrial practices and product use, including steel production and glass making, accounted for 21 per cent of emissions in 2015, the report said.
Despite the rise in emissions, per capita GHG emissions had decreased from 2009 to 2015, which meant emissions were not tied to population and economic growth, the report said.
The report was released in the same month Auckland mayor Phil Goff entered into a non-binding
C40 fossil-free streets declaration along with the mayors of Barcelona, Cape Town, Los Angeles, Milan and Paris.
‘‘Tackling climate change is one of humanity’s most pressing issues. In a city such as Auckland that grows by 50,000 people per year and where 800 cars are added to our roads each week, the task is significant,’’ Goff said.
The council had been making changes in transport, urban development, waste minimisation and the planting of trees, he said.
‘‘These are all reducing emissions.’’
For example the electrification of rail reduced Auckland’s rail emissions by 80 per cent, translating to a reduction from 30.2 kilotonnes to 6.1 kilotonnes and a saving of more than 9 million litres of diesel a year, Goff said.
‘‘Next year we are trialling electric buses with the aim of progressively replacing our fleet of diesel buses.’’
He also had his petrol mayoral car replaced with an electric one.
‘‘It is clear that we can do more and I am committed to ensuring that Auckland Council shows leadership and reduces its carbon emissions where possible,’’ Goff said.
Sustainable Business Council executive director Abbie Reynolds said businesses weren’t a homogenous entity, but it was a hopeful time and many businesses were reframing climate issues as an opportunity to improve.
‘‘We’re seeing a bunch of businesses make long-term carbon targets,’’ Reynolds said.
Auckland was likely to experience the impact of these targets by about 2020 because goals had been set over the last 12 months, she said.
Auckland Council chief sustainability officer John Mauro said there were positives from the report.
Per capita emissions starting to decline was a sign that better transport choices, waste prioritisation and energy improvements were happening, Mauro said.
‘‘However, the economic, social and environmental success of our city requires an ambitious and accelerated reduction in emissions as we also prepare for the impacts of a changing climate.
‘‘We need to see far faster and greater progress in coming years, especially as Auckland’s population continues to grow.’’ A 53-year-old with a gammy knee has joined the legends of Kiwi mountaineering by making the first known solo ascent of a remote Himalayan peak.
Joe Nawalaniec, of Carterton, has been told by the Indian Mountaineering Federation he is probably the first to scale the 6200-metre (20,550ft) Kang Yatse in northwest India on his own.
The first thing he did on reaching the summit was make a video to send to wife Vicky, with whom he has climbed mountains all over New Zealand and the world.
He recently returned home to Wairarapa, and said the sevenhour ascent, at the end of September, was one of the most challenging climbs in a long mountaineering career.
Heavy snow visibility was poor, and it was extremely cold.
‘‘About an hour into the climb I came the closest I have ever been to a climbing accident ... after the snow fell away in front of me to reveal a gaping hole.
‘‘Making it to a summit above 6000 metres is a funny thing – you are elated for about 20 seconds and then everything starts to kick back in. Exhaustion, pain, the cold screaming wind and the burning sun.
‘‘You are so high there is not much oxygen.
‘‘You feel like a chain-smoker with a plastic bag over your head,’’ he said.
‘‘Solo climbing is unspeakably hard. It’s very lonely as well, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
‘‘The sense of accomplishment is incomparable. No-one can ever take it away from me, the solo moments I have had on those Himalayan peaks [he also climbed the 6080m Kurzok Peak on his latest trip].
‘‘My arthritic knee makes things more difficult these days, but I’ll keep climbing as long as I can, or I’ll get a replacement knee and carry on.’’
Nawalaniec started climbing in the Tararua range as a 13-year-old, and has had the bug ever since. When not climbing solo, he is usually accompanied by Vicky.
He has now made six separate ascents in the Himalayas over 6000m, climbing five different mountains – Kang Yatse, Suku Kangri, Korzok Peak, Nanga Sago, and twice up Stok Kangri.
He plans to return to the Himalayas next year to tackle two more peaks of more than 6000 metres.