The four Southland councils — Environment Southland, Gore District Council, Invercargill City Council and Southland District Council — alongside Te Ao Mārama Inc, have worked together to develop the strategy. Some parts of Southland are already prone to flooding as evidenced by the 2020 and 2023 events, while extremely dry conditions have been experienced in many parts of our region during recent summers.
The proposed strategy has been endorsed by all four Southland councils and members of the public are now being asked for feedback on the strategy as a whole, the aspirations, Southland becoming a net zero region by 2050 or earlier, and what local climate change impacts they are most concerned about.
Environment Southland councillor and Regional Climate Change working group co-chairman Phil Morrison said the purpose of the strategy was to support a regional approach to respond to the effects of a changing climate.
"This includes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the changes across the region."
Environment Southland is co-ordinating public feedback on the proposed strategy via its website, on behalf of the four councils involved, with people able to have their say until May 8.
The feedback will then be considered by the working group before the strategy is finalised and adopted later this year.
As part of the process, Environment Southland will hold a special hearing to enable people and organisations that have provided feedback an opportunity to be heard in person.
Cr Morrison said feedback had the potential to influence both the strategy and the framework for action on climate change, which is under way, in addition to individual council work programmes.
