Zero carbon plan: Residents respond
A call for Dunedin to invest heavily in achieving its zero carbon plan has been backed by 150 Dunedin residents.
A collective submission was sent by the residents to Dunedin City Council in response to the council’s draft nine-year plan.
The submission contained a raft of strongly-worded commentary about the need for the plan to invest in zero carbon planning, including one resident saying the "can had been kicked down the road" far enough.
Another said the council should "stop fluffing about".
Another expressed the urgency: "This is an existential crisis. We need to act like it."
Residents, who sent their submission under the group name Zero Carbon Ōtepoti Dunedin, also mentioned the city’s flooding and the vulnerability of some communities in the face of climate change, including in South Dunedin.
In September 2023, the council adopted its zero carbon plan, which aimed to reduce emissions and provide for climate resilience. Two investment packages to achieve the plan — one high, one medium — were proposed to be included for public feedback in the council’s consultation on its nine-year plan.
However, the consultation did not include asking for feedback on the investment packages because councillors had voted, by a margin of one vote, to remove the investment package options from the consultation.
In a covering letter attached to the submission, former Dunedin mayor and spokesman for the group Aaron Hawkins said the willingness of people to take part in the response reflected the "growing urgency and a deep frustration at the lack of meaningful action".
"It is not fair, nor adequate, to leave climate action at the feet of individuals. We need leadership at all levels, from both the public and private sectors, doing all they can within their spheres of influence."
The council had a responsibility to tackle the crisis that required a high level investment, he said. "The high investment option is the only package that reflects the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. We urge council to reinstate and fund it."
Jessica de Heij, who lives in the city centre, said she had taken part in the collective submission because of concerns about transport emissions and safety.
"We really need to ask ourselves what we want for our our kids’ futures. I would love to see more investment in safe places to walk and cycle around the city, which also means less congestion."
Darcy Dalzell, a North-East Valley resident, said she joined in because it was "an important way to give people with shared values a louder voice for climate action".
Otago Regional Council councillor Elliot Weir was also among residents who took part. "If we want Dunedin to be a city that people live in happily we need to invest now and take responsibility for its emissions," he said.
Mr Hawkins told the ODT that he had found the community engagement in the submission "really heartening".
"We knew our community was concerned about our changing climate. They’ve now told us they want meaningful climate action from their city council. You can have the best plans in the world, but until you resource them properly they’re meaningless."
