Cr Elliot Weir will lead an Otago Regional Council workshop today as councillors work towards public consultation for a regional climate change strategy in June.
Land use was "one of the big exacerbators" for a range of problems the region faced, they said.
The way people used land for agriculture was "incredibly inefficient" which worsened agricultural emissions.
In addition, urban transport emissions were largely a result of the way cities were designed.
"We built suburban sprawl into floodplains and diverted natural river flows to allow for it; we started water-intensive agriculture on the driest soil in the country — and we’ve done all of this in carbon-intensive, nature-scarce ways."
One only had to look around the region to understand what long dry periods looked like and the need for better water storage, Cr Kate Wilson said.
The region might need to plan for future land uses such as possible new food crops.
The council could try to understand what biosecurity issues might arise too, she said.
The agriculture sector and many businesses had identified changes they needed to make and were beginning to take action, Cr Kevin Malcolm said.
However, habit, poor public transport service delivery — "real or perceived" — and lifestyle choices seemed to drive a resistance to public transport.
He also noted the Paris Agreement, which said climate strategies should "not threaten food production".
Cr Alan Somerville said Otago was not immune to the climate emergency the world was facing.
With the regional climate strategy, the council had an opportunity to take a leadership role in helping communities, businesses and industry reduce emissions.
Regional councils could co-ordinate action as well as identify where "gaps" existed that needed to be addressed.
"We have to plan ahead too to make sure communities are prepared to deal with the changes that are coming.
"This is already happening, most notably in the programmes in South Dunedin and head of Lake Wakatipu, and the ongoing work on Otago’s flood protection schemes."
There were many areas where climate change was "creating or compounding natural hazards", Cr Alexa Forbes said.
"This means alerting people to risks and supporting them through a process of deciding what to do.
"I think the days of government buying out red-zoned properties are all but over.
"People will need to understand hazards and be ready to make decisions in collaboration with their own communities."
Third-term councillor Gary Kelliher said the council’s 2019 decision not to declare a climate emergency, as other councils did at the time (including the Dunedin City Council), avoided "tokenism".
"Climate change needs to be front of mind except where it will be an immediate burden on the already financially stressed people of New Zealand as we are currently also in an economic crisis."
Cr Michael Laws could not imagine how making "such a forlorn gesture" as declaring an emergency would make "one blind iota of difference".
"Best advice — just adapt to it. Nothing the ORC does will make any difference at all bar virtue-signalling."
Council governance, culture and customer general manager Amanda Vercoe said following the workshop, there would be continued engagement with mana whenua, the DCC and the region’s district councils as well as "key stakeholders".
A draft plan would be brought back to councillors in June for approval for broader public engagement.
The climate strategy was being drafted to allow the council to set targets to address climate change, a staff report from last year said.
Setting objectives should spur a more ambitious and cohesive climate change-focused work programme that would ultimately be monitored.
