Time ticking on Auckland's climate deadline

[If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here]( [stuff header]( Hi {NAME}, The lost years of Auckland's climate action plans There were only 100 months to go until the 2030 deadline when Auckland Council [pledged to halve carbon emissions]( with a 64% cut in transport pollution. "Urgent and innovative change" was needed, said council officials. That was 18 months ago. Only 82 months remain. Latest data shows the country's transport emissions are rising, and the council's supposed blueprint remains behind closed doors. Eight months after that December 2021 council meeting, councillors signed off the [Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway (TERP),]( giving Auckland Transport six months (until February 2023) to devise a plan of the measures required. The goal is ambitious. It involves halving in the distance collectively driven by Aucklanders, and a nine-fold increase in public transport patronage, from the levels at the time. Since then, [Wayne Brown was elected mayor,]( with little apparent interest in emissions reduction. Ironically much of his focus has become dealing with the aftermath of disastrous, fatal flooding - which he acknowledged was a consequence of climate change. Councillor Richard Hills, who continues to chair the committee responsible for climate action, said: "I'm concerned there is some kind of climate denial happening in the organisation [Auckland Transport]. "All of what AT is supposed to be doing is on hold or up in the air," he said. Brown has publicly questioned the point of trying to avert global warming in a Ponsonby News column, writing: "Vain attempts to fend [climate change] off with hopeful cycling projects are probably a bit late now." AT's former pro-climate chairwoman Adrienne Young-Cooper heeded Brown's election call for all the directors to go, and an 18-month chief executive has been appointed to AT who has warned that cycling projects will continue, but not the large-scale big-ticket ones beyond those already committed. AT's board remained committed to the Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway (TERP), but the agency said it had to factor in the changed political environment, funding cuts and the need to complete the programme in the existing Regional Land Transport Plan, before weighing up what new initiatives will contribute to the emisson target. If TERP is passed back by AT to its political masters around the council table for "feedback", it's not clear what the consensus will be in the midst of debate over a big budget deficit. Years of saying the right thing about climate action and being part [of a global club of climate cities]( hangs in the balance in the coming months, which might make clear whether urgent action has become a "nice-to-have". [user profile pic] Todd Niall Senior Stuff Journalist [See more Auckland news]( [Privacy Info]( [Privacy Info]( [Watch this video now] Auckland dairy owners build steel cage 'like a prison' to fend off thieves When Auckland dairy owners Rong and Song Su were targeted by burglars - twice in one week - they decided enough was enough, and built a heavy-duty steel cage around the store's counter. [Read More]( [Privacy Info]( More Auckland stories you might have missed [Article Image] Council wants to use safer weedkiller, but preferred products unavailable [Read more button]( [Article Image] Pair carjacked at 3am as they watched a sports match on their phone [Read more button]( [Article Image] Mum faces crippling debt after flooding ruins her state house [Read more button]( [Article Image] Dolphin lost from pod after orca scare, people asked to stay away [Read more button]( [Support Stuff]( [Discover more Auckland news at Stuf]( You are receiving this email because you are opted in to receive the Your Auckland newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( [Manage your profile]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get Your Auckland in your inbox]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1021, New Zealand