Dunedin could become the latest city to declare a climate emergency.
Councillors will debate declaring a climate emergency at a meeting of the Dunedin City Council tomorrow.
A report prepared by council senior policy analyst Sean Jacobs will be presented to Dunedin councillors explaining the advantages and disadvantages of declaring an emergency, and Extinction Rebellion Otepoti Dunedin member Jennifer Shulzitski will speak to councillors before they vote.
In his report, Mr Jacobs said the declaration would raise awareness about the impacts of climate change and increase the public's recognition of the extent and speed of the actions needed.
It could also create a greater mobilisation of resources and highlight what was already being done to combat climate change.
Any declaration could reinforce the work the council was already doing. As well as having a goal of Dunedin being net-carbon zero by 2050, the council has allocated $1million to improve its ability to plan for climate change.
The report recommends that, instead of developing a climate emergency plan, the council include elements of any new plan in its existing climate change strategy.