500 signatures reached
To: Dunedin City Councillors
Adopt the Zero Carbon Plan 2030
We are calling on Dunedin City Councillors to adopt the draft Zero Carbon Plan 2030 immediately, without amendments, and provide funding options to match its ambition as part of the Long Term Plan.
Dunedin must achieve carbon zero by 2030. The draft Zero Carbon Plan 2030 outlines an effective and practical way forward with sufficient ambition to match the scale of the challenge we face.
Council must show leadership now to achieve net zero carbon targets by “collectively pull[ing] all the available levers as hard as possible to achieve the scale of change required” (draft Zero Carbon Plan 2030).
This means making brave political decisions now that will leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
Why is this important?
Our city needs a plan to protect our people, our places, and the things we love from climate change.
Dunedin City Councillors have the opportunity to do this by adopting the Zero Carbon Plan and working to achieve zero carbon by 2030.
➡️ Climate change threatens our very future.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of a “rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all” (1). To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This means reducing our carbon emissions as soon as possible.
➡️ Mitigating the impacts of climate change demands urgent action.
We must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors. Although this may seem costly, the IPCC warns delaying action will create a false economy. Our savings now will mean future climate mitigation options become more costly and less effective.
➡️ There is a consequence to delay.
If inaction causes us to overshoot the Paris Agreement target of net zero by 2050, the IPCC predicts that we risk triggering feedback loops that will be difficult - or impossible - to reign in. For Ōtepoti Dunedin, this means more extreme weather events, rising sea-levels, and more pressure on our native wildlife and ecosystems.
Urgently reducing our carbon emissions is the right thing to do — for our community now and in the future. If Dunedin City Councillors choose to delay our zero carbon targets, we all pay the price. It will threaten our homes, livelihoods and even our lives.
Dunedin’s Zero Carbon by 2030 goal means that we are working towards a livable and sustainable future and saving money in the long run.
Kicking the can down the road puts that at risk.
We simply can’t afford to wait.
(1) AR6 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers: Climate Change 2023 (ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle).
How it will be delivered
In person.