Purpose of this Action Plan

This Action Plan shows all the resources Council has currently allocated to climate change projects over the next ten years, as set out in our Long Term Plan 2021- 31. The Action Plan is a living document that will be updated as the actions are completed, or amended or new actions are added. Any changes to the Plan will be in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002, for example as part of an Annual Plan or future LTP process. As these changes happen, the Climate Action Plan will be updated online, alongside our emissions reduction dashboard, so the community can track progress towards achieving our targets. The actions in the Plan cover a wide range of infrastructural, social, and environmental areas, demonstrating Council’s commitment to meeting the urgent challenge of mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

What is adaptation and mitigation?

Responding to climate change involves two complementary types of action: mitigation and adaptation.

Mitigation of climate change is where we reduce GHG emissions or enhance sinks (sequestration) of GHGs. Sinks are places that absorb more carbon than they give out. An example of mitigation is improving public transport so that there are fewer cars emitting GHGs or planting trees to absorb GHGs.

Adaptation to climate change is the process of implementing actions to reduce actual or predicted negative impacts of climate change, for example preparing for more frequent outbreaks of fire by keeping flammable vegetation away from homes. Adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm to people, the natural and built environments and infrastructure. It can also include finding ways to exploit beneficial opportunities, for example taking advantage of longer growing seasons as the climate changes.

The more we collectively take action to reduce GHG emissions at the global level, the better the chance that we will have fewer impacts to adapt to in the future. Some actions contribute to both areas, for example planting coastal vegetation absorbs carbon (mitigation) and also protects properties by stabilising coastlines (adaptation). Council will be identifying interdependencies between mitigation and adaptation actions to maximise efficiencies and minimise investment risk.

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