Media releasesCouncil acts on climate change
April 7, 2006
North Shore City Council has been recognised for its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Communities for Climate Protection® - New Zealand (CCP®-NZ) Programme, at a recent event hosted by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives - Australia/ New Zealand (ICLEI-A/NZ) and the Ministry for the Environment.
The CCP-NZ membership complements the council’s existing involvement in the EnergyWise Council programme. Climate change and energy use are closely related to the emissions from energy and fuel use being the main contributors to the greenhouse effect.
“North Shore City has undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce energy use such as the TravelWise programme, the use of biogas to help power the wastewater treatment plant and carrying out an energy audit for council facilities to identify energy savings,” says North Shore City’s senior environmental policy advisor, Phill Reid.
“The CCP-NZ programme allows our council to track greenhouse gas emissions for our own operations as well as from the city as a whole. The effectiveness of initiatives can then be measured to see what reductions in emissions occurred,” says Mr Reid.
North Shore City Mayor, George Wood, attended the Wellington event with other civic leaders from throughout New Zealand. They gathered to share innovative and practical initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within their own communities.
“We’ve been represented at two international conferences on climate change in recent months in Adelaide and Wellington and we’re taking seriously what a number of experts are saying. Its no understatement to say that the preservation of planet earth is at stake,” says Mr Wood.
“I believe in local action towards global progress and I’m keen to take the lead on this matter for the council and the city. We’re serious about the contribution we can make to improving matters. The busway is an excellent example of progress at a city and regional level. For the first time we’re about to appoint an energy manager to look at energy savings and emission reducing activities.
“By implementing actions that reduce the impacts of climate change through CCP-NZ, North Shore City Council is committed to investigating the many environmental, financial and social benefits that can be gained,” he says.
Within the CCP-NZ Programme councils work through a series of milestones to assess their local climate change impact, set goals to reduce that impact and implement emission reduction projects.
CCP-NZ is a New Zealand Government initiative delivered by ICLEI-A/NZ. This programme is part of ICLEI’s International Cities for Climate Protection® campaign. There are 17 local and regional councils participating in the programme around New Zealand.
“Participating authorities are demonstrating the many benefits of our programme through greenhouse gas emission reduction actions that have had substantial flow-on benefits for communities,” says Wayne Wescott, chief executive officer of ICLEI-A/NZ.
“CCP-NZ councils such as North Shore City Council have embraced the principle of ‘think global, act local’ and are demonstrating that they can make a real difference in the area of climate change,” says Mr Wescott.